


Only One (DBH FanFic)

by ev3e



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Action & Romance, Adorable Connor, Angst and Romance, Bodyguard, Bodyguard Romance, Connor Deserves Happiness, Connor bodyguard, Domestic Fluff, Drama & Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Smut, Hank Anderson & Connor Friendship, Hank Anderson Adopts Connor, Hank Being Awesome, I Love You, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I need you, Inspired by Detroit: Become Human, M/M, Napping, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Connor, Protective Hank Anderson, Resolved Sexual Tension, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Sexual Tension, Sleeping Together, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Television Watching, Virgin Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Watching Someone Sleep, by god there will be smut, connor and zoey fluff, connor and zoey romance, connor learning about sex, connor learning to love, get rekt, i will protect you, protective bodyguard, slow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-06-19 05:52:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 33,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15503727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ev3e/pseuds/ev3e
Summary: Two years have past since the revolution, and while Connor has found a home with the DPD and hank, he still struggles with embracing his deviancey.  life however, is about to get turned upside down when a string of murders leaves a female witness in his charge. what is it about her exactly, that has the killer so enthralled with her? and why is it every time she looks at Connor with those beautiful green eyes his thirium pump skips and his processors malfunction. all Connor knows is that this girl is going to be the key to finding the killer, if she doesn't cause him to short circuit first.





	1. Only One

**Author's Note:**

> so just a quick disclaimer, this is my first time writing a fanfic, so i apologize ahead of time for any spelling or grammatical mistakes. however I cant get these stories or ideas out of my head, so here they are! i hope you all enjoy
> 
> Also please, any and all feedback would be really appreciated! And help me to improve my writing and ideas, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

It had been two years since the revolution. Androids were free and the legislation to give them equal rights where coming along steadily. However, there was still animosity: humans and androids alike still fought against one another. People still wished to cause harm to one another regardless of the color of their blood.  
Connor had decided to stay on as Hank’s partner in the DPD -after all it was the type of work his model was originally created to do. He enjoyed his work and his partner, even if there were those on the force that didn’t accept him. After the revolution Hank had insisted in his own way that Connor stay with him and Connor didn’t hesitate at the offer. He enjoyed working with Hank, and then returning home and watching sports or terrible game shows with Hank, while Sumo lay at his feet. Sometimes they would watch re-runs of a show called Jeopardy, Connor especially liked that one and found it amusing how Hank would get so competitive with him answering the questions.  
One day Captain Fowler called the two into his office, a serious and somber look on his face. He placed his elbows on his desk interlocking his fingers and resting his mouth on them looking at the pair, contemplating his words before he spoke.  
“Hank, Connor, we have a serious problem on our hands, and frankly I’m not sure how to even approach it.” Hank gave Fowler a sideways look eyes, narrowing.  
“And so you think we will?” Hank asked, annoyance evident in his voice, Fowler shook his head.  
“I’m not sure. All I know is the two of you are the most qualified to handle this type of case.”  
“And why is that captain?” Connor spoke up, curiosity getting the better of him. Fowler shifted his gaze from Hank to Connor.  
“im sure you two have heard of the string of android murders that have been taking place the last few weeks, and the very unsavory details of said murders?” Connor knew instantly what the captan was referring to. He had been researching the case in his free time, the last few weeks androids had been found murdered -well destroyed would almost be the better word for it. Not only did the murderer kill them, oh no, he also disassembled them, by ripping them apart. And to ensure that no one would be able to access the androids recorded memory bank he also would completely destroy the victim’s heads, rendering their data un-salvageable. Leaving the body parts artfully laid out at the scenes, blue blood everywhere, he would always leave a message, written in the victims blood on the walls: “we are not equal.”  
Connor spoke first: “yes we are familiar with these cases.”  
Fowler nodded and looked between the two “well there was another murder last night, this one however, well…” he trailed off, seeming to be at a loss for words.  
Hank looked to Fowler and gestured for him to continue “Well what, out with it”  
Fowler took a deep breath before continuing, “he has escalated; the murder last night, it wasn’t just androids, there were humans too.” Conner logged this change in behavior into his data base as he heard hank whisper out a “Jesus fucking Christ”.  
Connor directed his attention to Fowler “so there were both android and human victims?”  
Fowler nodded “yes, and that’s not the worst part, he treated the human bodies…well he treated them the same as all the previous murders.”  
Hank stood up and started pacing mumbling obscenities under his breath.  
Connor looked at Fowler and chose his words carefully “so you mean they were…dismembered?” Fowler only nodded, “And did the murderer leave the same message as usual?” again Fowler nodded and Connor furrowed his brows “that makes no sense, why would the killer change his MO so drastically?”  
Fowler threw his hands in the air and shook his head, “your guess is as good as mine, all I know is we need to catch this nut job before this can happen again.” Connor nodded in agreement as hank spoke up,  
“we’re on it, I just need to review the case file” hank turned to leave with Connor in tow when Fowler interjected:  
“oh and one more thing: this time he left a witness, she was roughed up pretty bad, first respondents found her unconscious at the scene.”  
Hank turned and looked at Fowler with annoyance written across his face, “don’t ya think ya maybe shoulda lead with that?” hank sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, “ok so where is this potential witness now?”  
Fowler made it a point not to comment on the tone hank had taken with him, “she is in the interrogation room now with detective reed.”  
Hank gave him a disgusted look, “you let Gavin interrogate a female witness, uhh that scumbag has probably already racked up enough for a sexual harassment suit.” Hank turned on his heels, “we will take it from here.” As hank and connor left the office, Connor could hear Fowler calling after them:  
“make sure you catch this son of bitch”

 

Connor and Hank entered the viewing room, greeting the other officer sitting at the control panel, Hank walked over and sat next to the officer and asked:  
“alright Chris what are we looking at here?”  
Chris had his arms crossed and was looking particularly annoyed, “Well the witness is female, Caucasian, age 27, and just Gavin’s type. So this has been more of speed dating simulator rather than an interrogation.” Chris made an exasperated gesture towards the glass as he spoke.  
Connor walked over to the control panel and brought up the case file, her name was Zoey Holms, Age 27, she was a free-lance graphic designer and illustrator, no criminal record and no immediate family listed. The report said she had been at a gathering at a friend’s house when the incident happened. Connor looked up to the one-way glass and took in the scene before him.  
She was sitting there holding an ice pack to the right side of her head, dried blood caked to her temple and the surrounding hair. And while most of her features were obscured by her hair, Connor recognized the annoyance on her face and in her posture; Connor had become very familiar with that look. Connor couldn’t help but to keep staring at her, drawn into her every detail, she had short black hair that just barely brushed her collar bone, with subtle strands of purple mixed in, unlike many of the human females connor had seen, she had what was referred to as a “Sleeve” on her left arm, consisting of flowers and a compass from what he could see at this angle. She dressed casual, a white tanktop under a hooded vest, with loose fitting capri's and large work boots. Connor took note of the dried paint droplets on her clothes and hands. Connor was brought back to reality by Hanks voice.  
“Connor the fuck are you doing?” connor blinked a couple time his LED switching between yellow and blue, “I was just…analyzing the situation, lieutenant.” Hank scoffed a little muttering under his breath “sure”. Connor turned his attention back to the interrogation room, this time taking in the whole scene. Gavin was sitting across from her, leaning over the table a bit, a confident smirk playing on his lips, Conner was disgusted by the way he looked her up and down like she was a piece of meat. She was not looking at him though, she held the ice pack to her temple with one hand and cradling her forehead in the other.  
Gavin spoke up before too long “so I know you're tired sweetheart" Gavin was laying it on thick "but are you sure you can't remember anything from last night?” she responded only by shaking her head slightly, “that's okay sugar, you’ve had a long night, so maybe I should take you home so you can rest." Gavin paused and his smile grew before continuing "also, It would probably wouldn't hurt for me to take your phone number, ya know incase we need to get in touch with you for further…questioning” Hank rolled his eyes and made a loud groan as Gavin put a very obvious sexual emphasis on that last word. Gavin was being so blunt that even Connor even picked up on it.  
She made no response however, not even acknowledging that Gavin had spoken to her. Annoyed at the lack of reception, Gavin spoke again, louder this time “did ya hear me sugar, I said how about I take you home?”  
With those last words Zoey lifter her head finally, bringing her free hand down and revealing her face, she looked playfully at Gavin, one eyebrow raised and a small smirk curling up one side of her mouth into a seductive smile. “Oh I’m sorry detective” she paused to bat her long dark eyelashes “I couldn’t hear you over the sound of overcompensation.” Hank spat out the coffee he had been drinking and roared with laughter, Conner even smirked a little at her comment.  
Gavin stared open mouth at Zoey taking a moment to compose himself before responding, “Sorry sugar, I didn't quite catch that, what did you just say?”  
She tilted her head to the side and looked at him innocently that small seductive smile still in place “oh, I'm sorry detective, I was just saying how amazingly desperate you must, you know, trying to hit on a female witness in an interrogation room and all.” her Smile unwavering while she kept eye contact with Gavin.  
Hank made a small clapping motion, a look of pure admiration on his face “oh I like her!” he said with a smile. Chris was still laughing so hard his eyes ere glistening. And Connor had to admit, it was nice to see Gavin so properly put in his place for once.  
Gavin stood up and slammed his hands on the table “you little bitch, do you have any idea who your talking too?”  
Connor recognized this as a rhetorical question, however, Zoey placed the ice pack on the table, crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair before responding regardless, never breaking eye contact “well judging from your reaction, temper and attitude I’d say I was talking to detective tiny d…”  
Hank motioned to the door “Connor!” Connor was already walking out the door making his way into the interrogation room  
“Got it” he called over his shoulder right before Connor entered the interrogation room.  
Gavin was screaming obscenities now, making moves to round the table. Zoey’s eyes followed him but she never flinched, never faltered. Connor made a mental note of that before placing a hand on Gavin's shoulder stopping him in his tracks. “Detective Reed we will take it from here.”  
Gavin spun on his heels, seething “I don’t fucking think so tin can, this is my investigation and I don’t need some plastic prick getting in my way, now fuck off!” Gavin made to turn and continue towards Zoey, Connors hand however, kept him firmly in place.  
“Actually Detective, Captain Fowler has just assigned Lt. Anderson and I to head this investigation, so it would seem it is no longer your case.” Gavin looked at connor in disbelief, rage creeping into his features, he was about to say something when hanks voice came over the intercom  
“that’s enough Reed, you’re off the case, now leave before I get Fowler involved.” Reed shot a look of venom towards the one way glass before turning back to connor,  
“you fucking piece of shit…trash..an…” Gavin trailed off as he moved to leave the room, making sure to hit connor’s shoulder with considerable force with his own on the way out and slamming the door behind him.  
Connor watched as Gavin left, unbothered by the outburst, he had gotten quiet used to them over the last couple of years. Once Gavin was gone he turned his attention to Zoey, who was already looking at him. Connor took a step forward and smiled slightly “I apologize for detective Reed’s behavior, it was out of line and uncalled for, are you alright?”  
She nodded her head yes and sighed “is he coming back?”  
connor smiled warmly “No, he will not be back, and he will no longer be bothering you for the duration of the investigation.” Connor could see Zoey visibly relax at his words, her shoulder slumped ever so slightly and the tension that had had her sitting ridged seemed to subside a little.  
“Good, because he was a total tool” with connors heightened hearing, he could make out hank laughing again in the other room, connor watched as she pick the ice pack back up and rested her temple against it once again, wincing at the contact, elbows resting on the table. Connor waited until she seemed settled before speaking again “may I sit down?”  
She looked up to him then making eye contact with him for the first time, connor could feel a tightness in his chest as his thirium pump skipped a beat. Her eyes were one of the brightest greens he had ever seen on a human, they were like emeralds, with flecks of gold around the edge of her iris, framed by thick dark lashes. She had one lone freckle resting just under the outer corner of her left eye. Her eyes wandered to Connors flashing LED before resting back on his eyes.  
“sure”  
connor shook his head and looked at her confused “sure?” he repeated back.  
she gestured to the empty chair, “sure you can sit.” Connor could hear hank snorting.  
Connor sat down and extended his hand over the table, “hello my name is Connor, I'm the Andr-urr I’m a detective here at the DPD.” Connor stumbled on his words almost reverting back to the familiar introduction from two years ago.  
Zoey raised an eyebrow at connor’s fumble before extending her free hand, “Im Zoey Holms, but you already knew that.” Connor smiled as she took his hand for the formal greeting, he was not prepared for the effect this would have on him. As soon as her warm hand took his, it felt like an electrical current ran up his arm through his thirium pump and fizzling outwards to the rest of him. while her hand was soft and smooth, it was also littered with small scars of varying sizes and shapes, with small calluses at the base of her fingers. Her nails were cut short, but shaped nicely, connor again noted the paint speckling her hand.  
Connor was brought back sharply by zoey’s voice, “hey there buddy, ima gunna be needing that hand back.” She didn’t look angry, she almost looked amused, connor apologized and settled into the chair across from her.  
“so miss Holms, I know that detective Reed has already asked you some questions regarding the investigation howev-” connor was cut short by her laughter, the sound of it was beautiful.  
“ya about that, i'm not sure he really asked me anything that would be helpful to anyone, who was trying to do anything, but get in my pants.” Connor’s LED flashed yellow to red to back to yellow, he had no idea how to address that statement, and hanks roaring laughter from the other room was not helping him focus.  
Zoey noticed connors confusion and tilted her head to the side, “Sorry buddy, I didn’t mean to break you, I was joking…well I was trying to.” Connor shook his head, his LED settling back to blue  
“not at all Miss Holms, I understand the need to lighten the mood after last night and then your interaction with detective reed.” With his reasurence she smiled at him,  
“thank you, but I will be honest with you, I don’t know how much help i'll be, I really don’t remember anything.” She gestured towards her head “I apparently got waked pretty fucking hard.”  
Connor lowered his voice ever so slightly to try and sound soothing, humans usually responded well to that “I understand, any information you could remember would be helpful though, even if you don’t think its relevant.” He adjusted in his chair, “you were at a gathering, do you remember seeing anything or anyone that seemed out of place?”  
Zoey pinched her brows together, and closed her eyes, “there was one thing, a man, a man I hadn’t met before.” Connor looked over to the one-way glass then back to zoey  
“yes go on”  
Zoey lowered her head slightly “He just stood against the wall, watching us all, he didn’t say anything to anyone, I remember getting a really bad vibe from him.” she brought her free hand up to cradle her forehead again.  
Connor noted her vitals were dropping, her heart rate had slowed and her breath was becoming shallow. “Miss Holms, are you alright?” she shook her head  
“ya ill be fine, my head just really hurts.”  
Hanks voice came over the intercom: “Connor why don’t we wrap up, Miss Holms has been through a lot, maybe she could come back tomorrow and give her statement.”  
Connor nodded in agreement, before turning to Zoey, “Does that sound agreeable to you miss Holms?”  
she smiled slightly at she nodded “yes thank you.”  
Connor stood up and walk the door holding it open waiting patiently. Zoey stood, and connor noticed she seemed slightly off balance. She started walking towards the door, and as she past connor mumbled a small “thanks” as she walked by him, hank was in the hallway waiting, he greeted Zoey and gave her his contact info and set up a meeting for the next day. with that she headed for the front doors.  
Hank went to go back to his desk, Connor paused however, when he caught sight of Zoey standing outside under a street lamp next to the bus stop, snow was falling and collecting in her hair, she hugged herself with her arms, she wasn’t wearing a coat. It took only a moment for connor to check the bus schedule, the next bus wouldn’t arrive for twenty minutes.  
“Hank” Connor caught his attention before he reached his desk, hank turned and followed his gaze seeing Zoey through the glass doors, he smiled and shook his head  
“make sure she gets home without freezing, ill see you at home.”  
Connor nodded “understood” 

 

Connor took a step out into the cold Detroit night, the cold had no effect on him, however his sensors indicated that it was -2 degrees. Zoey was visibly shivering, leaning against the light pole. Connor made his way behind her and silently slipped his coat off and placed it on her shoulders. She jumped a little at the sudden weight and turned to look at connor, eyes wide and face bright red from the cold.  
“it is too cold for you to be out without the proper clothing, the bus won’t be here for another fifteen minutes, would you like me to call you a cab?”  
Zoey looked at Connor with her mouth open slightly, causing his chest to tighten slightly, “no, no thanks, that's very nice of you to offer but, I actually I think i'm going to walk”  
Connor frowned at this, had he not just said it was too cold out for her. “miss Holms, I would advise against that, with the current temperature and weather conditions.” She looked down away from him, “I know but…I don’t want to get in a moving vehicle right now…I'm very dizzy.”  
concern overtook connor immediately as he placed gentle hands on her shoulders, she stiffened at the touch looking up to him like she was going to protest, when his soft words calmed her a bit “please stay still while I run a diagnostic” she relaxed under his hands and didn’t argue. Connor did a quick scan, dilated pupils, slowed heart rate, shallow breathing, vertigo. “Miss Holms I believe you have a concussion”  
She giggle softly catching him off guard “Sounds about right.” She backed away and then went to turn and walk down the street, she looked over her shoulder,  
“Thank you, i'll bring your coat back tomorrow.”  
Connor let her go, watching as she made it about a block before droping to her knees. He had caught up to her within seconds. She was on her knees, hands splayed out on the ground in front of her, eyes closed tight. Connor crouched next to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder.  
“connor, I have the spins…my head is pounding….i think i'm, i'm gunna be sick.” Connor took that as his cue to help her move to the side of the street to the gutter, he barely got her there before she was sick. Connor held her shoulder with one hand and rubbed small circles into her back with the other while she heaved. After a couple minutes she rocked back and sat in the snow, holding her head. Connor still kneeling beside her with his hand on her shoulder calmly said: “Miss Holms, I think it would be best if I took you to the hospital to receive medical attention.”  
Zoey didn’t move, she was perfectly still “no I’ll be fine, this isn’t my first concussion, hell I don’t even think its my worst one.”  
Connor could feel anger rising in his chest at her words, at the thought of someone causing her harm, harm worse than this. He wanted to ask, to pry, but hanks word came across his recent memories, telling him he was too blunt. So Connor just settled with continuing to rub her back, hoping the repetitive motion would help ground her. She was shivering even harder now, and Connor was sure her pants must be soaked from the snow, she couldn’t stay out here in the cold, and she wouldn’t cooperate and go to the hospital. Connor sighed as he readjusted, still crouching, with his back now facing her “come, we need to get you inside before you develop hypothermia."  
Zoey looked up confused “What are you doing?”  
Connor looked over his shoulder “I believe humans refer to this as a ‘Piggy back ride’”  
Zoey started laughing “connor you don’t need to carry me, I can walk.”  
Connor shook his head, “I beg to differ Miss Holms, with your current state and lost equilibrium I believe you would have a very difficult time walking, now please I must insist.” He turned to look forward arms stretch back ready for her to climb on. Zoey hesitated, she had just met him and here he was trying to give her a piggy back ride home. But as she looked at his profile silhouetted by the street light and his LED glowing a soft blue, she couldn’t help but to feel a calm rest itself inside her.  
“Alright fine” she struggled to stand, feeling off balance, she let her hands rest on his shoulders and used him to steady herself.  
Connor felt her arms come around his neck, and could feel her weight press against his back, in response to her weight, he began to stand up looping his arms under her knees and bringing her legs up around his waist once standing he used his arms and shoulder to boost her up to a more secure position, her arms were around his neck and her head was resting on his right shoulder.  
Connor stood there for a moment, soaking it all in, her warmth, the weight of her pressed against him, the soft smell of apples and honey wafting from her hair. His system was overclocking itself, his thirium pump working double time. He realized he liked this, this closeness, he found it very pleasant. Her shivering brought his attention back to the task at hand, he made a quick adjustment to his internal temperature settings raising his core temperature by 5 degrees. He could hear her soft moan of comfort at the added warmth, and could feel her grip on him tighten as she tried so soak it in.  
Trying to ignore the error messages flashing in front of his eyes at her physical response he straitened himself up and tilted his head slightly towards her face as he spoke "Miss Holms, would you please tell me the address of your home so that I can navigate a route.”  
She laugh softly at his question “didn’t I just get done putting the other officer in his place for trying to get my address?”  
Connor could feel heat rise to his face as he tried to recover “I..I..didnt mean to…its just..in order to.”  
Her laughter cut him off “I was teasing you connor, its 1134 Carew Street.”  
He relaxed a little letting out a small “oh,” he still had a hard time picking up on sarcasm. He entered the address into his HUD and had the fastest walking route planed in seconds. "Ok Miss Holms let’s get you home and out of this weather.”  
Connor began to walk down the dimly lit street when he heard her groan “enough with the ‘Miss Holms thing its weird, just called me Zoey for Christ sake.”  
Connor smiled at the invitation to have that level of casualness with her, and responded “Ok Zoey for Christ sake, I can do that” Connor laughed as she playfully slapped his shoulder, proud of himself for making a successful joke. She settled back into having her arms around his neck, this time however, she turned her face into the crook of his neck to shield her face from the wind. He could feel her warm breath on his cheek and it sent a pleasant shiver down his spine.  
He noticed her breathing was shallow and her heart rate slowed.  
“Zoey” he whispered, but she didn’t respond. Connor turned his face towards hers ever so slightly “Zoey, you need to stay awake, come on now.”  
She shook her head a little “I'm not sleeping, I'm resting” she paused “Ok, I was sleeping, Connor, can you keep talking to keep me awake please?”  
he nodded in agreement as he turned a corner “what would you like me to talk about?”  
there was silence for a moment while she thought “tell me about you, what kind of things do you like?”  
Connor thought for a moment before responding “well I like dogs” 

Connor proceeded to tell Zoey all about Sumo, and Hank and the odd little family they had formed since the revolution. Zoey listen intently, nodding into the crook of his neck and making small sounds of acknowledgement as he spoke. And they continued like that through the cold night, the sounds of the city muffled by the falling snow. For all either of them cared they were the only ones in the city.


	2. Only One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor looked up at the dilapidated building before him, slightly concerned by the sight, he had followed the directions to the address she had given him; maybe he had made and error entering it.  
>  “Zoey, I believe you may have given me the incorrect address earlier” Connor turned his head slightly towards her while he spoke, never taking his eyes off the building, LED settling on a solid yellow glow.   
>  Zoey picked her head up a little and looked at the building “Nope, this is the place” she said before tucking her face back into Connors neck to hide from the cold.   
>  Connor felt that tightening in his chest again as she settled back into the crook of his neck. “This building does not seem to be in compliance with any health or safety regulations” he frowned slightly at her laughter.  
>  “Don’t judge a book by its cover, it may look rough, but this place has a ton of character.” she laughed softly into his ear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is chapter 2 of Only One! I hope you all like and again any and all feed back it appreciated! Any majors likes or dislikes so far?

Connor starred up at the dilapidated building, slightly concerned by the sight; he had followed the directions to the address she had given him, maybe he had made and error entering them.  
“Zoey" Connor turned his head slightly towards Zoey as he spoke "I believe you may have given me the incorrect address earlier,” never taking his eyes off the building, LED settling on a solid yellow glow.   
Zoey picked her head up a little and looked at the building “Nope, this is the place” she said as she let her chin rest on his shoulder.   
Connor looked the building up and down disapprovingly, “This building does not seem to be in compliance with any health or safety regulations” he frowned slightly at her laughter.  
“Don’t judge a book by its cover, it may look rough, but this place has a ton of character.” she laughed softly into his ear.  
Connor stiffened a little, he felt heat rising in his face as her breath tickled at his ear. He resolved himself and started walking towards the door to distract himself. “If by character you mean safety hazards then I agree with you completely” he could feel her giggle at his words before she tucked her face back into the crook of his neck, causing his Thirium pump to stutter.   
Connor took a moment to look around and scan the area as he made his way up to the door. Built in 1932 this building was originally a mill, over the past 100 years it had been remodeled several times, ranging from mill, factory, store front markets, and eventually an apartment complex. The red brick faded and dirty, the windows were broken or so clouded by years of dirt you could no longer see inside. The tenant list was short and mostly unsavory, especially considering several of the floors to this building had been condemned and the land lords made no attempts at restoring them.   
Connor was still trying to comprehend why Zoey would choose to live in such a place as he reached the large front doors, Connor carefully shifted her slightly as he reached out a hand to open the door. Once inside connor found it was just as bad...no it was definitely worse then the outside let on. The landing and adjoining hallways were in absolute disarray. The wall paper was peeling off the plaster walls, he could see slats in certain places where the plaster had started to crumble. The ceiling was missing tiles and the ones that still clung on for dear life were dark with water stains. The floor seemed as though it had be forgotten by time: cracked, stained and covered with dirt and garbage.   
Connor was about to turn on his heels and inform Zoey exactly what thought of her living arrangements, when his attention was caught by a sudden crash, followed by very loud and angry yelling. Connor paused, tilting his head to the side as he listened cautiously, anticipating danger when Zoey started to laugh.  
Connor turned his face to look at her incredulously “what part of this situation could you possibly find amusing?”   
She smiled at him and looked towards a door down the hall, “It sounds like Mrs. Bὺi Is absolutely piiiiissed about something." Zoey noted Connors continuted look of confusion. "she my neighbor, she’s a sweet lady but, hot damn, does she have a temper” again Zoey nuzzled against the pulse at the base of his neck, Connor did not miss the fact that they were no longer out in the cold, and there was no longer wind to shield her face from.   
While he had been alarmed at first, Connor humored Zoey by listened to the yelling, which he realized was in fact, a very angry women yelling in Vietnamese. Something about a man dropping one of her best plates...along with some other obscenities…he decided to stop translating as it might be considered rude.   
“she’s been here forever," Zoey mumbled into is neck "she really is nice neighbor, she makes a killer bowl of pho” Zoey added sleepily   
Connor noticed her becoming more tired, and got back to the task at hand, “where is your apartment located zoey?”   
without lifting her head she replied with minor sarcasm “I’m in the penthouse baby, top floor.”  
Connor closed his eyes, gathered himself, and opened them again “well, we should start climbing then, what direction are the stairs?”  
Zoey shook her head, “The elevator is around the corner”  
Conner rounded the corner and stopped short and let out an exasperated sigh “of course”   
Zoey almost sounded offended “What?”  
Connor just stared at the metal deathtrap in front of them, it was original to the building, an antique. It was an open box with a sliding metal cage for a door, it reminded him of a bird cage. He shook his head and walked forward, again adjusting zoey carefully, to free one of his hands, once inside with the cage closed around them, connor examined the mechanical lever by the gate.   
“you just have to push the handle all the way back to go to the top” zoey offered.   
Connor hesitated slightly before following her instructions, the metal cage made a painful metallic groan before lurching to life and lifting them slowly floor by floor. “this thing is a deathtrap” he muttered under his breath.  
Zoey snorted at his obvious displeasure. “calm down cranky pants, we're gunna be just fine.”  
As Connor was about to make a comeback the elevator grinded to a, not so smooth stop, making a small ‘ding’ noise as they reached the top floor. Connor opened the gate and stepped out into the hall, it was dark. There were no lights in this hallway, a quick scanned revealed it was in much the same state as the lobby.   
“Take a right, I’m the last door at the end of the hall” zoey pointed in the direction he needed to go.  
Connor walked the hall, carefully steping over the trash and debris littering the floor. Once in front of the door he spoke softly “this one?”  
Zoey nodding in acknowledgement, then swore under her breath “oh god damnit”  
Connor tilted his head and looked at her in worry “what is wrong?”  
“My keys," she sighed "My keys are wherever my wallet and jacket are…which, in short, is not here” she moaned in frustration.  
Connor shifted his weight “it will be alright, I can call a locksmith, they should hopefully be here within the next few hours.”  
Zoey made an exasperated noise before muttering “Fuck that noise” as she all but rolled off Connors back.  
The sudden movement caught him off guard, he stumbled almost dropping her. She staggered as her feet hit the floor, and before he had time to protest she was rummaging in a pile of papers and god knows what else on the floor opposite her door. Before turning back with a victorious “Hazzah”   
Connor tilted his head to the side as she walked back over and keeled in front of her door. He could just make out that she had found a wire coat hanger in the mess and was bending it into odd shapes. “what are you doing?” he asked genuinely curious.  
“I’m breaking into my apartment” she said it so matter of factly that connor laughed softly. “what, you have a better idea…other than the locksmith?”  
He shook his head and just watch in amusement as she got the hanger into the desired shape. He was perfectly still and gave her silence, as she pressed her forehead to the door just under the knob and closed her eyes, hands above her, both ends of the hanger inserted into the lock. After about 30 seconds connor was about to suggest they try to come up with another plan when he heard the solid click of the lock.   
He stood there, watching in disbelief as she pulled away from the door and looked up to him smiling “who needs keys when you have a coat hanger”  
Connor stared at her in awe, she had picked an antique lock, with a wire coat hanger, in under a minute. “How did you do that, and so quickly?”   
She stood slowly swaying slightly before answering, “not the first time I’ve had to pick a lock” she had a small sad smile, “well thank you, for everything” she slid out of his coat and handed it back to him.  
Connor took his coat and let his gaze linger on it; she had done it again, she had shown him a little of herself, peaking his curiosity, only to close him out immediately...without another word she turned and open the door and walked into her dark apartment. without thinking he followed silently and made it one step into the apartment when he ran into Zoey full force. His arm shot out around her waist instinctively, steadying her against his chest keeping her from falling. She froze in his grip, he could just barley make out that she was looking up at him from over her shoulder.  
“what the hell are you doing, you scared the shit out of me.” she whispered   
Connor looked down at where he thought her face would be, feeling her body pressed against his. It caused him to falter “I said I would take you home," he said softly "you shouldn’t be alone with your concussion, what if you fall asleep or need help…or” without pulling away she turned in his grip, as she did so, he could feel every curve of her body as it brushed against his, she was facing him, his hand at the small of her back and he could feel her warmth radiating, her softness pressed to him so closely was causing him to overheat. and the tightness that had been building in his chest for most of the evening had suddenly moved to rest in a much lower place, tying itself into a knot. she snapped him back to reality as she patted his chest with her hand.  
“ok, ok calm down boy.” she turned away from him “stay there until I turn the lights on, so you don’t knock me over again.”  
Connor did as she said, staying still as she pulled away, hating the sudden distance. he listening intently to her moving around, undoubtedly looking for the light switch. “here we go” with her words the room was bathed in light, causing connor to blink as his eyes adjusted.   
Shock, that was the feeling he was having, it was like she had turned the lights on to a different world. There was no dedicated over head light, but instead there were strands of Edison bulbs hanging from the metal beams in the ceiling. casting a soft warm light that reflected off of the wall of windows. Windows that went almost from floor to ceiling. Connor noticed that these were not normal windows made out of a single pain of glass but instead made of a dozen small rectangular pains held together by a metal frame. He continued to take it all in, the warm red brick walls, the maple hardwood floors, the ceiling that had to be at least 20 feet. What really caught his attention however, was the art. It was everywhere, paintings, drawings, sketches, canvases. Strewn about the apartment, some finished some only half done. There was an easel by the wall of windows with a large canvas on it turned so that it would get direct sun during the day. Paint, brushes, markers and pencils, took up almost every flat surface. And there in the middle of this beautiful explosion was Zoey, looking at Connor with a satisfied grin pulling up the right side of her lips.   
“What was that earlier, about health and safety violations?” she smiled as she turned and walked to her couch which was placed in the middle of the open room. It was very open, there were no rooms. It was one huge open space, with an iron spiral staircase in the back leading up to what Connor assumed was a loft. On his right was the wall of windows, to his left was a large kitchen area with an island, in the middle of the room the couch faced away from the door to the back wall which was adorned with a very large tv.   
Connor brought his attention back to Zoey who was in the middle of taking her boots off. It hit Connor suddenly the situation he had put himself in, and he immediately started to feel slightly uncomfortable, awkward. He wasn’t sure what he should do next, he knew Zoey shouldn’t be left alone with the concussion, however, it was also wildly inappropriate for him to stay at the home of a key female witness. He started to fiddle with the coin in his pocket while he shifted his weight from side to side LED flashing yellow as he tried to work out his next move.  
Zoey looked over the back of the couch and saw connor fidgeting nervously, she smiled, his LED was going nuts and he was looking anywhere but her: It was adorable she concluded. “Connor?”   
He jumped at the mention of his name and he looked up at Zoey, eyes finally resting on hers, “yes, I’m sorry, I was thinking.” He paused planning his words “is there something I can get for you, is there anything you need?”  
She smiled and waved off his offer, “You must’ve been thinking pretty hard, you could start your own rave over there.”  
Connor looked down at his feet, feeling slightly embarrassed, Connor had made EVERY transition since the revolution, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to remove his LED. Hank said it was sentimental bullshit, Connor wasn’t sure why, he just LIKED his LED. It was part of who he was.   
Zoey could see the change in connors demeanor, see the wave of insecurities wash over him. she felt bad, she hadn’t meant to make him feel self-conscience. She stood, wobbled a little as she balanced,then walked over to connor. Stopping about a foot in front of him, she used her index finger to hook under his chin and raise his eyes to meet hers. Even as he lifted his face he wouldn’t make eye contact.   
“hey, listen to me connor, don’t be ashamed, or embarrassed of what you are, there is nothing wrong with you. And on a side note, I like the LED, its cute to watch you think.”   
Connors eyes shot up to meet hers, her words sinking in, no one had ever spoken to him in that way, and it made that tightness he was feeling really hard to igore.  
“see” Zoey giggled sweetly “just like that”   
Connors LED was strobbing yellow again, and he was sure that if androids were capable of blushing, he would be doing so in spades.   
Zoey continued to look into connors eyes before finally saying “alrighty you, it is very late, and I need a shower badly, so ill let you get going.” She had worded it so perfectly, he thought, completely negating any awkwardness the situation might have held before.  
“Are you sure you will be alright on your own?” connor asked genuinely concerned.   
She winked at him and playfully punched him in the shoulder “don’t worry about me, ima big girl, I can take care of myself” she paused, looking down thoughtfully for a moment, “But I really do appreciate everything you did tonight, it was incredibly sweet.”   
Connor could feel his thirium pump go crazy at her praise, it was intoxicating. “It was no trouble at all, I am glad I was able to see you home safely.” He smiled warmly at her “well if you are sure you will be alright, I will leave you to your evening.”  
Connor turned and walked to her door, Zoey trailing behind him. he opened the door and before leaving turned to her one more time “good night Zoey”  
Zoey nodded, “I’ll see you tomorrow at the station” she smiled at him warmly “Sweet sleep connor”   
He smiled and closed the door behind him, Connor stood in the hall tilting his head to the side. he had never heard that expression before, he decided almost instantly that he liked it, loved it even. He was in trouble, realizing the lengths he might go, to hear her say it to him again.


	3. Only One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoey had fallen asleep almost has soon as her head hit the pillow. She knew connor would have probably been mad that she ignored him and went to bed, however like she had said, not her first concussion, and not her worst. And she was exhausted, despite not remembering anything, she finally let the reality of what had happened over the last 24 hours wash over her like a wave. She hadn’t been friends with those people per say, but regardless they were nice people, nice people that had been violently murdered. Zoey let herself cry as she fell asleep wondering…why her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 of Only One is up! I had a lot of fun writing this one, it was very challenging for me to to expressing in writing what i was seeing in my head. I Hope you all like it!

Zoey

Zoey had fallen asleep almost has soon as her head hit the pillow, shower and food completely forgone. She knew Connor would probably be mad if he knew that she had ignored his constant fretting and went to bed however, like she had said, not her first concussion, not her worst. Zoey was exhausted, despite not remembering anything, she finally let the reality of what had happened over the last 24 hours wash over her like a wave. She hadn’t been friends with all those people per say, regardless they were nice people, nice people that had been violently murdered. Zoey curled into the fetal position holding herself as she cried, falling asleep wondering…why her?

The room was an odd wash of blues and reds, blurred and mixed until they looked like paint smeared over a dark canvas. The blur and confusion occasionally giving way to show distorted faces she could barley recognize. She waded through the symphony of color, suddenly she could feel the room shift, gravity and equilibrium flipped, walls became floors, and she was on the ceiling looking down in the pool of mixing colors and bodies. The haze felt welcoming she thought to herself, cradling and obscuring her from the crowd as she looked on in silence. In that ever changing sea of colors, a single face became clear, emerging from the swirling smokescreen making its was to the foreground. His features were sharp, with high cheekbones accentuated by his long silver hair pulled back far to tightly. but what really sent chills down her spine were those eyes. They were pale, hooded and haunting. An empty icey blue; devoid of anything that could come close to resembling a soul, as those eyes met with hers she could feel her weight shift and her grip fail.   
She was falling.  
She hit the ground with a sickening thud,.  
wet, she felt wet.   
As she lifted a hand to inspect the source she realized it was covered with the blue and red paint that had been engulfing the room and people. Only now did she see the paint had all settled to the floor, and walls…on every surface ; looking around, the comfort educing haze had cleared, she realized now that she was surrounded by bodies: lifeless, desecrated bodies, all looking too her, as if asking her why. A horrified scream escaped her as she scooted backwards through what she only now realized was blood, too quickly she felt herself hit a wall, She pressed herself into the wall trying to escape the pleading gaze of the dozens of lifeless eyes upon her.   
He stepped out from the clearing mist, stopping only a few short feet away, towering above her menacingly. Looking down to her, his emotionless eyes, shifted and fractured, now filled with terrifying bloodlust. Tilting his head to the side, eyes wide and full of deranged pleasure; a sadistic smile curling the corners of his lips as he crouched down in front of her. She tried to speak, to ask why, and was horrified to find she had no voice. He laughed manically as she grasped at her throat in confusion, hot tears making trails down her face. He lifted a pale hand, long lithe fingers gently brushing strands of hair from her face, slowly making there way down her cheek following the line of her jugular. she made soft sobbing sounds as his fingers traced the edge of her clavicle, hand turning over as he cascaded the backs of his fingertips down her left arm causing the hair to stand on end in it wake. he kept his gaze following his hand, drinking in the look of her pale untouched skin as his face turned to a pout, he crooned and tsk'd her, “we are not equals, we never were, and we never will be.” she looked at him in confusion tears still freely flowing. he brought his eyes up to meet hers before continuing "You cannot escape me, I will find you, and when the time is right, I will end you." as he stood her eyes followed him, he started laughing as she noticed a knife in his other hand, she tried to move, to escape, only to find her hands and feet tied, a gag over her mouth. He gently shhh’d her, that sickening smile back, never wavering, "only I wont just end you like them," he made a sweeping gesture to the carnage behind him. "no no no you are far to special for that, you will help me destroy them, and in doing so, you will destroy yourself.” her eyes widened in horror at his words, confusion and fear making any chance of a rational thought impossible. "Because it all started with you, so too shall it all end." the hilt of the knife came slamming into her temple, and then there was nothing…

Zoey shot upright screaming, her cold sweat causing her hair to cling to her. Holding herself, she checked her surroundings, realizing it had been a dream. Slowly the memories of the day before started coming back to her: waking up in an ambulance, the police station, Connor, and all that had transpired before. Taking a shaky breath She swung her feet over the side of her bed, which was nothing more than a mattress sitting on the floor of her loft area. with both feet planted firmly on solid ground she let her face rest in her hands for a moment, taking deep calculated breaths to calm herself.   
"Shower", she thought to herself, "I need a shower." 

The shower had helped to relax her as she collected her thoughts and herself, Zoey was ready to face the day, compartmentalizing as she descended the stairs from the loft to her main living space, she had all but gotten herself under control when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye.   
There, on her tiny bistro dining table was a single rose, confused she hesitantly moved closer. Zoey Froze about a foot from the table, fear creeping up her spine and ice spreading through her veins. Extending a shaky hand she gently lifted the rose, turning and examining it between her fingers. the long stem white rose was in full bloom...and dripping with blue and red liquid. On the table beneath where the rose had been so carefully placed, was a small piece of paper, the rose fell from her grasp as she started to back away, stifling a scream by covering her mouth with her free hand. The only thing written on the paper, "You cannot escape me.” 

Connor

Connor was sitting on the couch, still in his clothes from the day prior, as hank entered the living room shuffling sleepily into the kitchen. Connor had spent most of the night in idle mode, processing the data he had collected the day before, shifting through information collected on the murder cases; however, he found that his processors kept bringing Zoey to the foreground of his operations. Her mannerisms, the way her hair framed her face, how she smelled faintly of apples and honey, how her nose crinkled ever so slightly when she laughed. It was a pleasant frustration to say the least, but a frustration non the less, Connor couldn’t understand why these things suddenly kept overriding his primary processes. He was still pondering this, coin absently gliding across his knuckles, as hanks voice roused him from idle. “Hey kid, what time did you get in last night?”  
Hank asked this absently, voice still husky from sleep, as he sat down in his chair, coffee in hand, sumo wasting no time curling up on the floor at his feet.   
“I arrived home at 2:43am, accompanying Miss Holms home took longer then originally anticipated.”   
Hank snorted into his coffee with laughter mumbling "ya i bet."  
Confused slightly by the response, Connor was about to ask what he found amusing, when hanks phone started to ring.   
Hank looked at the phone and grumbled “who the fuck is calling before coffee” lifting the phone to his ear. “Hello this is Lieutenant Anderson speaki….” Hank snapped the phone from his ear like he had been burned, due to the audible yelling coming from the other end of the line. Connor stiffened as his auditory processor recognized the hysterical voice on the other end of the line as Zoey.  
Hank brought his phone back to his ear “Miss Holms calm down, back up and start over" Connor watched intently as hank nodded and made small grunts of acknowledgment to Zoey's end of the conversation before his eyes went wide and he shot up out of his chair " YOU FOUND WHAT…you stay right where you are you here me! We will be there in 15 minutes.” Hank was turning to connor as he began to speak “Connor the suspect…”  
Connor was already putting his coat on as he walked briskly to the door “I heard, I’ll meet you there.”  
Hank called after him “you keep her safe, got it!”  
Connor didn’t even look over his shoulder as he closed the door “Got it” 

 

Once Zoey had hung up with Lieutenant Anderson, she sat in a chair only a few feet away from her table, staring at the rose, like it might attack her, never taking her eyes from it. Within well under fifteen minutes she heard a knock on the door, she couldn’t look away however, she didn't need too, she had unlocked the door when she knew the police would be coming.   
After the second knock Connor entered the room, gun drawn, eyes scanning until his eyes fell on her still form. He had crossed the room in only a few long strides and was kneeling down beside her. Zoey felt his hand touch her shoulder, heard his low voice whisper her name a couple times before she finally allowed herself to break contact with the rose and turned her gaze to meet Connors.  
Worry was written all over his features, eyes and brow set with concern. “Zoey...Zoey are you alright?”  
This time when he said her name, she let herself fall apart before him, tears began pouring from her eyes, “Connor…he was here…while I was aslee….” Her voice caught as she tried to get the words out. She was hyperventilating, shaking and sobbing; Any and all composure she had manage to find, was gone.  
To her surprise, connor straightened up on his knees and wrapped her in a firm embrace “it’s going to be alright, you are safe now, I promise.”  
She made no protest at the comfort or the closeness, instead grasping at the front of his jacket and burying her face into his shoulder as she sobbed “you don’t know that, he knows where I am, what if he… what if..” Connors grip tightened slightly   
“I will protect you, and you will be safe, I promise.” Connor said this with such conviction that she wasn’t sure if he was saying it to her, or if he was saying it to reassure himself. after a few moments of letting her ride the waves of her panic attack, Connor pulled away slightly, finding her eyes with his own, “I promise.” he whispered again softly before standing and turning on his heel towards the door just in time to see what looked to be the entirety of the DPD swarming her apartment.

 

Anger, Guilt, Frustration. Connor wasn’t sure which, and wasn't ruling out the possibility of it being all three of these emotions he was feeling at the moment. Standing in Captain Fowlers office with hank, the conversation had been long, during which Connor found he was having trouble keeping himself from glancing over to check on Zoey.   
She had been in shock when he arrived at her apartment, and once she became aware of his presence she had become a storm of emotions, her vitals veered into the deep end. He had done the best he could to comfort her, diving into his data bank for answers to the situation, humans often wanted and needed physical contact. So, he gave her contact, he held her as she fell apart in his arms. all the while he was mentally berating himself for leaving the night before, if he had just stayed...while that seemed to calm her slightly, as soon as the DPD arrived and started tossing her apartment for evidence her vitals had gone haywire again. He brought her to the bull pen and had given her a coffee and blanket to try and stabilize her, she seemed so fragile and small, clutching the warm mug looking up to him with with gratitude in her eyes, which were red and puffy from crying.   
“So, it seems this son of bitch broke into her place and left the flower, which by the way, was covered in blood, while she was sleeping last night.” Connors attention snapped back as hank spoke. “It was human and android, the note was written in human blood this time”   
Fowler covered his face with his hand, and connor noticed the man looked tired. Connor wondered if Fowler had even gone home last night. “ok, obviously this psychopath has a thing for the girl, whatever his intentions, she isn’t safe.” Fowler paused for a moment before continuing “we can’t leave her alone, not after and incident like this.”  
Hank made and exasperated gesture, “obviously not, but shit, do we even have the man power for a protective detail right now?”  
Fowler shook his head looking out at Zoey “no, we don’t, I do however, have an idea if you'll hear me out.”

 

Zoey glanced up as she heard the door to the office open and close, she followed them with her eyes as they made their was across the room. Hank stopped in front of her with Connor just behind. “Miss Holms, how are you holding up?”   
She laughed nervously “well I’ve been better to tell you the truth.” She looked down at her coffee, afraid if she kept looking at them she would start crying again. “so, what’s going to happen now?”  
Hank sighed “well you obviously can’t be left alone, but we don’t have enough men to give you a protective detail.”   
Zoey nodded her head, not looking away from her coffee, so she would be sent home, and they would all hope for the best, anxiety and fear climbing up her spine again. She wouldn’t show it though, damn it, she already had one break down and looked like a hot mess. that was enough for one day. “okay, so I will just go home, and let you know if anything else happens right?”  
Hank made a sharp noise “fuck no, Jesus. no, Connor here is going to go with you.”   
Zoey’s gaze shot up to hank then to connor “wait what?” she asked as she looked back to hank  
Hank smiled a little at he reaction “Did I stutter? We do not have the man power to give you a full protective detail, but connor is more than enough to keep you safe from that sick bastard.” Hank said this with a non to gentle slap to Connor’s shoulder “So for the foreseeable future, Connor here will be acting as your personal body guard.”   
Connor’s eyes met hers before darting away as he spoke “I apologize if this arrangement is inadequate or inconvenient to you Miss Holms.”  
Zoey shook her head “no, no, Connor its not that, its just, what about you?”   
connor glanced at her confusion written all over his face. “What about me?”  
Zoey gestured to the room “you seem like you have more important things to do then babysit me?”  
Conner paused for a moment thinking, his LED fluttering to yellow before settling back to blue “I would not be babysitting as you put it, I would be ensuring your safety which is paramount to the investigation, also considering I do not need to eat or sleep, I am the logical choice for this assignment.” He glanced at hank who was shooting him an annoyed look before continuing “Also" Connor finally met her eyes as he spoke "protecting you is now my highest priority.”   
Hank seeming pleased with that addition nodded and smiled, “well its settled, now get the fuck out so I can concentrate.” He said waving his hand in a shewing motion.   
Zoey stood and placed her coffee on the desk and turned to Connor, “So….uhh…what now?”   
Connor looked at her thoughtfully and replied, “you lead, Ill follow.”  
And thus, she had a shadow. A tall, dark, handsome shadow.


	4. Only One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoey sat patiently in the driverless taxi, waiting as connor disappeared into the little ranch house. She used this time alone to look out the window and go over the events of the last 48 hours in her head. Party, murder, concussion, connor, psychopath, connor. She wasn’t sure how to even process everything that had happened so quickly, two days ago she was a homebody, very rarely leaving the safe little bubble she had created for herself, and now did she even have that anymore?

Zoey sat patiently in the driverless taxi, waiting as connor disappeared into the little ranch house; They had pit stopped as what she was told was Hanks house so Connor could gather some personal belongings for his "Mission". She used this time alone to look out the window, chin cupped in her palm, watching the begging snowfall, going over the events of the last 48 hours in her head. Party, murder, concussion, connor, psychopath, police station, connor. She didn't even know where to start process everything, it had all happened so quickly, two days ago she was alone, a homebody, very rarely leaving the safety of the tower she had carved out for herself. she felt tears starting to brim her lash line, "did she even have that anymore?" she thought to herself.   
Her musings were cut short by the sound of the car door opening, Zoey quickly wiped the newly forming tears away before he could see, as connor slid back into the seat next to her, Zoey found her eyes settling on the small duffel bag he had retrieved and frowned. “that was really fast, are you sure you got everything you need, I don’t mind waiting.”  
Conner gave zoey a sideways glance as small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, “I appreciate that, but I gathered all that I will be needing.” He turned his attention to the cars control panel and entered Zoey’s address before settling back into his seat.  
The car started to make its was down the snowy street, leaving tracks in the freshly fallen snow,it wasn't long before the awkward silence started. Zoey became very aware of the man sitting next to her, the one who would now be acting as her personal bodyguard. to her understanding that meant that from here on out, Connor would be with her every waking moment, watching and protecting her. Looking down to her lap as she rung her hands together, Zoey began to worry at her bottom lip, a small action that she could tell connor was taking note of, Luckily she felt saved when connor broke the silence.   
“When we arrive at your apartment, I will set up the perimeter with surveillance cameras, also I will need to make a mental map of the facility.” Ok maybe saved was a strong word.  
She lifted her gaze to meet connors “wait what? did you say cameras?”  
Connor nodded in response “yes, I will be setting up security cameras. Around the building and in your apartment, I will be able to monitor them wirelessly at all times.” He said with a satisfied look, seemingly proud of his statement and plan.  
Zoey just stared at him, mouth open slightly, “you...are going to put security cameras in my apartment...ones that you have personal access to…at ALL times?”  
Connor studied her face, growing concerned at her apparent disapproval “yes”  
Zoey stared for a moment, jaw slack, eyes wide, before shaking her head and slouching in her seat; she crossed her arms directing her gaze out the window at the passing city scape. Humming under her breath “every breath you take, every move you make…”  
Connor was confused as to why she was humming when she looked so obviously displeased, he pondered for a few moments, her tears from earlier, hastily wiped away and her temperament changing so drastically not going unnoticed. After a few moments he came to the conclusion that she must be upset about the sudden inescapable invasion of privacy; while there was nothing for it, he did still feel a pang of guilt. “Zoey,” he paused for a moment before continuing “I apologize if i've upset you, it was not my intention, and If it makes you feel better I will only review the footage of the apartment if absolutely necessary.”  
She responded without looking at him, “it does”

Zoey unlocked the door to her apartment and slowly entered, it looked untouched, like nothing had ever happened, like there hadn’t been a dozen strangers rummaging through her life only hours before. everything was where she left it, and the rose was gone. “damn there good” she muttered as she dropped her bag and shrugged out of her jacket, she walked over to her couch and dramatically fell over the back onto the cushions with a soft flop. She rolled over onto her back and dangled her feet over the arm of the couch kicking her boots off. Covering her eyes with her for arm. Connor had gotten right to work with his security setup and said he wouldn’t be too long. And zoey just lay there, wonder what they would do when he was done. She sat up and looked around her apartment…what the fuck were they gunna do? 

Connor  
It had taken a little longer than originally anticipated but connor had managed to set up a solid network of cameras throughout the building. All the while making mental documentation of the floor plan of the building. After the last camera was installed he activated the network, he closed his eyes and in a matter of milliseconds had switch his internal interface and was able to view the input from all of the cameras. His LED fluttering at the process. Satisfied with the work he had done, Connor set off to the stairs, he refused to use the metal death trap of an elevator unless he had too. Once on the top floor he made his way down the hall and stopped outside Zoey’s door. Thinking to himself how this made the third time in 24 hours he found himself looking at the antique wooden door. He knocked softly and waited, he heard Zoey almost instantly “Connor? Connor why are you knocking, just come in.” he entered without further hesitation. Stopping short after only a few steps, Zoey had apparently taken the time while he was installing cameras to tidy up, keeping herself busy. He noted that the clutter of her art supplies had been somewhat tamed, the coffee table and other flat surfaces clear and recently wiped down, the dishes were still wet in the drying rack. But what immediately caught his attention and caused his lips to pull into a shy smile, was what Zoey currently had herself busy with. Next to her couch she had inflated an air mattress and was in the process of making it up when he had entered. “Zoey, what are you doing?” he asked with sweet curiosity  
Zoey looked up from her task and leaned back on her haunches, hands resting on her thighs as she looked from the bed to him. “well I don’t have a guest room, and since you apparently live here for the quote “foreseeable future”” she made air quotations with her fingers, “I’m doing my best to give you a makeshift living space.”  
The sweetness of this gesture had his thirium pump skipping a beat, he walked over to stand beside what was apparently now his bed, looking down to meet Zoey’s upturned gaze. She met his eyes, then looked down quickly, Connor’s sensors caught the slight rise in her body temperature and the blush creeping into her cheeks as she spoke “I’m sorry, I know it’s not much, and it’s not very glamorous, but it was the best I had to work wi…” Connor silenced her when he knelt beside her.  
“Thank you, Zoey, it’s wonderful. I very much appreciate you going out of your way to ensure my comfort.” He didn’t have the heart to tell her that he didn’t need a bed because he didn’t sleep. Especially when her face lit up at his approval and praise. There was that feeling in his chest again. His eyes met hers and he couldn’t help but let them linger for a moment, again, admiring how shockingly green and vibrant they were in stark contrast to her long dark eyelashes. Zoey held his gaze for a moment before turning a bright shade of pink and looking away busying herself making the bed. Connor laughed softly as he noticed the blush was tinting the tops of her ears as well. 

 

Zoey   
She finished making Connor’s ‘living corner’ she guessed she would call it, and stood to find Him standing in front of one of her canvases. She had finished that one only days before. the painting was Lovecraftian in nature, featuring an airship with a pretty badass steampunk lady at the helm, flying above the clouds, tentacles emerging from the abyss trying desperately to grasp the ship. That painting had been a commission and would end up paying her rent for the next two months once delivered. She walked over to stand next to connor and let herself admire her own work for a moment.   
Connor spoke without taking his eyes off the painting “you are an extremely talented artist.” Zoey blushed at the complement. And felt herself puff up a little at his praise, she never really shared her art with anyone, the only people seeing it being the ones buying it for one reason or another. It was her passion and calm, and the only thing that kept her sane.   
“Thank you, Connor, that really means a lot” she paused before continuing, “So, am I allowed to leave?”  
Connor looked at her and tilted his head a little at her question “of course, you’re not a prisoner here.” He looked around the apartment before his gaze settled back to Zoey, “You can leave and go wherever you’d like, as your bodyguard I will follow and keep you safe.”  
Zoey beamed at Connor, the stress and tension she had in the car seeming to lessen a little with every interaction, causing his thirium pump to skip again “Ok that’s good, because I have to deliver this painting so that I can go grocery shopping. I know you don’t need to eat but,” she glanced at her kitchen “I’ve been living off of ramen for the last couple weeks and I would love to make a real meal later”  
Connor frowned at her words and the implications behind them “you’ve eaten nothing but ramen for how long?”   
She picked up the painting and walked over to her table with it, and started gathering packing items to wrap it with “a couple weeks, it was food shopping or utility bills, and I like being warm” she said it so casually “so this time, I had heat and ramen”  
Things started clicking in his mind at her words, the way she carried herself, how she could switch on that wit and sarcasm in a moment, why she chose to live in a building like this. Those little glimpses she had given him the previous night about her background making more sense. He looked at his feet as he spoke his carefully planned words “Zoey, do you…have any family…or friends in this area?”   
Zoey stiffened at his question while she was wrapping her painting hands hovering over the string she was tying the brown paper with. Without looking up from her task she spoke softly “no, I don’t have friends, and l lost my family along time ago” she squared her shoulders and regained her composure “its just me, alone in my tower, with my ramen” she laughed a little, a sad smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she continued to wrap her painting  
Connor instantly felt guilt at his question, he was starting to understand that Zoey had quite a few figurative skeletons in her closet, and that whatever happened to her in her life, must have been hard, before him stood a small fragile human, who despite the current circumstances of her life, continued to smile. He found himself in awe of her presence.  
Zoey finished packaging her painting and looked to Connor, she noticed his LED was settled on a solid yellow, “Connor, are you ok?”  
He looked up to her and smiled softly “yes, lets go get you something to eat that isn’t so high in sodium.”


	5. Only One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The afternoon had gone by quickly, the transaction between Zoey and her buyer was brief and professional, he had unwrapped the painting to inspect it before pulling out a tablet and letting his fingers glide over the surface, informing her that he had deposited her money. She thanked him for his business and turned to walk down the front steps of the lavish estate where Connor waited patiently.   
>  “Did everything go as planned?” Connor asked as they continued walking down the long driveway back to the street where the taxi was waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is pure fluff, and character development, the next chapter will dive more into the over arcing story and background, but i hope you all enjoy the fluff as much as i enjoyed writing it!!

The afternoon had gone by quickly, the transaction between Zoey and her buyer was brief and professional, he had unwrapped the painting inspecting it before pulling out a tablet and letting his fingers glide over the surface, informing Zoey that he had deposited her money. She thanked him for his business and turned to walk down the front steps of the lavish estate where Connor waited patiently leaned against the car.   
“Did everything go as planned?” Connor asked pushing away from the car as she made it down the long driveway back to the street where the taxi was waiting.  
Zoey smiled widely, “yes, he was pleased enough with it, I mean I’m no Carl Mannfred, but he paid me, so all and all a good day.” As she approached the car Connor held the door open she hoped in, almost immediately pulling a tablet out of her side bag. Connor punched in the address of the store Zoey had made mention of early and the car started off towards their destination.  
Connor looked at the tablet in zoey’s lap, she tapped a few times until she had found what she was looking for, a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips. “ok great, the money is already in my account, so we are good to go.”  
Connor nodded in acknowledgment, still watching her. Curiosity as usual got the best of him. “You referred to Carl Manfred, do you like his work?”   
She hadn’t put the tablet away, instead she seemed quite busy typing away, she did pause at the mention of Carl’s name however. “like, would be an understatement”. She directed her smile to Connor, “Carl Manfred is my idle, he has been my artistic inspiration for as long as can remember. One of my dreams is to save up enough to buy a print of one of his paintings someday, buuuut they are very expensive, and for good reason.” Connor noticed she had a calculator up on the tablets screens. She was punching in and subtracting numbers, subconsciously counting on her fingers occasionally. “someday though” she whispered under breath. By the time she was done they were pulling into the parking lot of a department store with a grocery section. As the taxi stopped, she looked at her tablet and seemed pleased with the numbers as placed it back into her bag.   
Finally looking up to Connor, “alright you ready?”  
Connor looked to the store, then back to Zoeys enthusiastic smile. "yes" he replied simply, the idea of having her in such a crowded place making him slightly uneasy.  
Zoey smiled “ok lets do this” and with that she bounced out of the car. 

 

Connor  
Connor sat on the couch next to Zoey as she ate, he was confused. She had said she wanted to eat a real meal tonight, yet she bought nothing but frozen or microwavable food when they went to the store; And here she was, happily munching on a frozen pizza.   
“Zoey may I ask you something?” again his curiosity getting the best of him  
Zoey nodded in response, as her mouth was full chewing.  
Connor thought about his words, LED flickering to yellow before settling back to a solid blue. “you said earlier that you wanted to eat a good meal tonight, yet my scanners indicate that everything you purchased is extremely high in sodium, trans fats, and cholesterol.”  
Zoey looked away from Connors eyes, as she answered. “compared to the last few weeks this IS a good meal connor.” She pulled her knees up to her chest as she continued “healthy food is a luxury, and I’m sure your sensors have been able to deduce, that I don’t live a luxurious life.” She wouldn’t look at him while she spoke.  
Connor still struggled to pick up on sarcasm and other nuances of conversations, however he could tell by her tone and body language that there was anger behind her statement, anger and something else he could not quite pick up on. his LED flickered to yellow then back to blue, he was trying to process her statement and body language, desperately trying to identify the emotion he was feeling at her change in behavior. and failing.   
Before he had a chance to finish processing her statement she set the almost completely untouched pizza on her coffee table and stood. Never once looking at him, “I’m tired, I’m going to bed.” And with that she walked away without another word. Ascending the spiral staircase to her loft area.   
Connor’s LED was a solid yellow as he watched her stand and walk away, he could hear her moving around until a light clicked off and after about 10 mins he was certain she was asleep. Connor sat there, hands in his lap, looking at the barley touched pizza. She hadn’t eaten anything else that day, and for whatever reason, what he had said upset her enough that she didn’t even eat the horrible frozen pizza, which admittingly he would have preferred her eat over nothing.   
Connor was at a loss, he knew his job was to keep her safe from the deviant that so clearly had taken a disturbing interest in her, but wouldn’t it stand to reason that part of keeping her safe was to also make sure she was healthy?   
And so, Connor did the only thing he could think of, he called hank.  
Connor waited patiently as the dial tone sounded softly in his head, his LED blinking yellow with each ring. Until finally a tired sounding hank pick up the other end. “Connor, Connor is that you? Is everything alright kid?”   
Connor mentally replied, “Yes, the surveillance situation is going well with no incidence…there has been no suspicious activity relating to the deviant or the murders.” Connor was about to continue with his status report when hank cut him off, "Jesus Connor i know you are not calling me this late to give me a status report, so out with it, whats got your processors out of sorts?"  
Connor hesatated slightly before confessing his delema to hank "Well, I beleive I have upset Zoey, and I am having trouble identifying an emotion again"  
Connor could hear the sound of Hank sighing and the creak his recliner as he sat up “ya well it must be an interesting situation for you to be calling me so damn late, so shoot, im all ears”  
Connor wasted no time retelling Hank the events of the day, leading up to Zoey walking away and going to bed without having eaten.  
“for fucks sake Connor” Connor winced a little, knowing that if he could see hank, he would be shaking his head at him. “It’s pretty obvious the girls all on her own, and from the sounds of it, struggling financially. Sounds like what she was doing was budgeting the money she got for that painting before shopping, and apparently based on what you've told me, she is spread pretty thin.”   
“So…she is poor?” Connor asked innocently, trying to grasp the situation fully.  
Another sigh from hank “not poor connor, living paycheck to paycheck, Meaning she doesn’t have extra money to buy fresh food and perishables." hank paused thinking before continuing, "even if she wanted to buy healthier food, She sounds like she has to be careful to leave herself enough to pay her bills as well. If she is supporting herself off of commissions, she won’t know the next time she will get paid.”   
“so when she got up and walked away..?” Connor asked, dreading the answer  
“You hurt her feelings connor, she is very obviously trying to do her best, and that stupid pizza, is probable the best thing she’s had to eat in weeks, and even tho it was unintentional, you bashed her about it. So ya, she was angry, and she was probably more than a little ashamed, thinking you were judging her based on all of this.”  
Shame, that was the emotion he wasn’t able to identify earlier, she was ashamed, and it was his doing. Guilt caused a knot to form in Connors chest. He hadn’t meant to be rude or make her feel bad. He was just curious and concerned for her well being.  
“Hank what should I do?” Connor asked mentally as his gaze flickered to the loft where Zoey was sleeping.   
“Make it up to her, trust me, Ive fucked up with women enough times to tell you, just make it up to her.”  
“How?”  
“Hank laughed softly, you’ll think of something kid, I have faith in ya.”  
And with that Hank ended the call, Connor went over the events of the day and thought, and as he went idle, letting his coin glide across his knuckles he started formulating a plan for the next day.

Connor came out of idle at exactly 06:00 AM and as the morning light was slowly filtering through the wall of windows he stood and gathered his coat. His idle processors had formulated a remedy that would hopefully rectify the situation at hand. As he left the apartment and locked the door, he switched on his background processor to monitor the building while he was out. He had promised not to monitor the apartment itself unless absolutely necessary, and so to keep that promise he switch on the motion sensors in the appartment, they would notify him of any movement without invading her privacy, he hoped that could be an acceptable compromise to ensure her safety.

Zoey  
Zoey had been restless for most of the night, tossing and turning, first dwelling on Connors careless words, she understood that he didnt eat, and that he probably would never understand how amazing a frozen pizza was compared to the ramen she had been surviving off of for weeks. but still, she had hoped that he at least would understand how thoroughly she had been enjoying it before his comment. and then just to add to her restlessness she had her familiar nightmares, the ones where she was cornered by the deviant that wanted her life, and wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who got in his way. Zoey was roused from her fitful sleep by an amazing combination of smells that had reached her nose. she stretched and sat up in bed rubbing her tired eyes, Curious she rouse herself from bed and walked to the iron railing of the loft overlooking her studio apartment below. What she saw melted her heart, Connor was in her kitchen, cooking, and from the looks of it, with real food.  
She slowly descending the stairs in her pajamas and sleep mused hair, Connor looking up and following her with a smile as she padding across her apartment barefoot, until she was standing at her island, she pulled up a stool and sat with an elbow on the counter cupping her chin, she watched as Connor moved between the stove and her island, standing now with his back to her as he tended something on the stove. She couldn’t help but take note of how broad his shoulders were, and how toned his arms looked in his short sleeve shirt. Connor looked over his shoulder at her with a soft smile.   
“good morning Zoey, did you sleep well?”  
“I slept alright, "she lied" what are you doing?” she asked trying to look around him at what he was making.   
Connor turned to her, a shy smile tugging at his lips, “well I wanted to apologize for upsetting you last night, so, I made you breakfast.”  
Zoey’s eyes widened as Connor turned holding a plate with a stack of pancakes, and another plate with an omelet, hash browns and bacon. He placed them all in front of her on the island before handing her a bottle of syrup. Zoey could feel hot tears pricking her eyes as she spoke “Connor” she said his name reverently “I don’t...this looks amazing…but where did you get it all?”  
he spoke with the shy smile was still in place, eyes meeting hers sheepishly “ I went to the local shopping market when they opened this morning, and did some grocery shopping”   
Zoey tilted her head at his words “grocery shopping" she repeated his words with a questioning lilt to her own"…Connor grocery shopping usually means more than one meals worth of food.”  
Connor nodded “yes, I have stocked the kitchen, I was not sure of your likes or dislikes so I got a variety of options”   
Zoeys mouth fell open, she looked around her kitchen, there was fresh fruit in a bowl on the counter that had not been there the night before. she looked at connor then to the rest of the kitchen before standing going around to inspect, her cabinets were full of every kind of non perishable you could think of, her fridge was full of fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, eggs, and her freezer was busting at the seem with meat wrapped in brown paper and butchers string. with every cabinet she opened and every new discovery she made she could feel her throat burn and she could feel the tears start to flow freely   
Connor looked confused and upset as he watched her reaction, his LED turning a solid yellow at her tears. “I did not procure food that you like?” legitimate concern written across his face.   
Zoey shook her head, smiling warmly through her tears “ no that's not it, Connor, this might be the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me, this must have cost a small fortune," she paused sniffing looking down at her bare feet. "I don't know if I can pay you back.”  
Connor shook his head, feeling reviled as he took a step towards her, his thirium pump skipping a beat at her praise. “since the revolution, I have started receiving a paycheck. However I don’t need to eat, nor do I require most of the amenities of a human, so as part of being your bodyguard and protecting you, I have added your personal well being to the top of my list of main objectives.”  
Zoey crossed her kitchen and wrapped her arms around Connor, pulling him in close and burying her face in the crook of his neck, connor stiffened for a moment before relaxing and placing his hands gently on her back.   
“you are by far, the sweetest man I have ever met, thank you. “ she whispered into his neck, before pulling away just enough to give him a soft kiss on the cheek. after a moment she pulled away and sat down at the counter to eat the best meal she had had in as long as she could remember.   
Connor just stood there, frozen by her words, “man” she had referred to him as a man, not an android. He could still feel the warmth left behind from her body, and he made a mental note of how soft her lips had felt on his cheek, subconsciously hard saving that data deep into his core processor...and as he turned to look at her then, hair a fluffy mess and skin still slightly flushed from sleep, a beautiful happy smile on her face, spreading ear to ear, as she ate the meal he had prepared for her. He had to ignore the multiple error messages flashing across his vision. as he tried to get his internal regulators and processors back to a normal pace he realized that his mission status had changed slightly, it was no longer keep Zoey Holms safe, no... it was now, keep Zoey safe and happy. this was a subconscious change he decided he was happy with, and would do everything in his power to execute. watching her then, he made sure to log this image to his internal data bank, so as to never forget the look of pure happiness he had helped create.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any one is interested here is the link to my tumblr, i have some DBH fanart as well as a couple character designs for "only one"   
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ev3e


	6. Only One

It had been a quiet couple of weeks, at least as far as Connor let on. there had been another attack that matched the deviants MO, again including humans and androids alike among the victims. and while there had been no direct contact with Zoey, the killer had left a single long stem white rose at the scene. over looked by many, but blaring red flag to Connor and any of the officers who had had and dealings with the parts of the case involving her. Connor and hank had decided it would be better not to tell Zoey of the new development, seeing how no new evidence had been gained, Connor new it would only cause her distress, so instead Connor allowed her ignorance. over the past two weeks Connor found himself becoming completely focused on learning everything he could about his charge. This had allotted him plenty of opportunities to learn many of her quirks and intricacies. And while the main objective of this, was to try and discern just what it was about this particular human that the deviant had picked up on, out of the literal dozens of others he had left for dead. Connor decided it was a pleasant consolation that he also was just able to get to know Zoey in the process.  
Connor enjoyed how easily flustered she became over simple conversational topics, and how, when she didn’t think he was paying attention, she would sing to herself while painting or cooking. He found it slightly disconcerting how clumsy she could be however, she was not the most graceful of humans, she was constantly dropping things or bumping into things while he was around. He also had decided that he may need to inquire about her health at an appropriate time, her sudden raises in temperature and fluctuations in pulse and breathing had started to worry him.  
One night, they were both sitting on Zoey’s couch, Connor had gotten to choose what they watched. He had gone almost immediately to jeopardy reruns, finding himself missing the simple routine he and hank had carved out for themselves. And while Zoey did contribute answers occasionally she had been completely absorbed in her tablet for the better part of the last hour. Finally his curiosity peeked at her quiet and complete devotion to whatever was on her tablet, Connor leaned over slightly to get a better look at the screen. He was surprised to see that it was a magazine article, advertising the soon to be released auto biography of Carl Manfred. Connor looked at Zoey’s features as she read the articles cliff notes of the new book, complete admiration lighting her face.  
Connor’s data bank brought up a memory file of when he had first come to stay with Zoey, the day they had gone to deliver her painting, she had said “I’m no Carl Manfred.” He realized then that Zoey must really look up to him as an artist to say such a thing of her own abilities, using him as the bar she set for her success.  
“Zoey?” Connor said her name quietly to get her attention.  
She snapped back from her article, looking to the tv and trying to come up with an answer to the question she had missed most of. “what is…..What is…”  
Connor smiled at her struggling to try and catch up, trying to hide that she had been completely ignoring the show altogether. “Zoey, what are you reading?”  
She looked down, a slight blush on her face knowing she had been caught “I’m reading an excerpt from Carl Manfred’s new book that is coming out next week.” She gave him a sideways glance as she said this.  
Connor nodded, “You seem to really admire him”. Zoey’s eyes lit up at the opening to gush. “I do, he is my idle, I’ve loved his art since I was little. I grew up hoping one day I could become a talented artist like him, that maybe one day my work would be somewhere even remotely close to his level.” She looked down and deflated just a little “It was a silly dream a child had though, I could never even hope to stand in his shadow, he is an artistic genius without even trying.”  
Zoey sighed and shut off her tablet, “I’ve always dreamed of going to one of the art exhibits showcasing his works, being able to see one in real life, it would be indescribable.” She laughed a little before continuing “not to mention that he has been known to show up at them once and a while. God can you imagine it Connor?” she looked at him then, reminding him of the tightness in his chest that he had just begun to accept as a permeant malfunction when she was around.  
“imagine what?” Connor asked with a confused tilt to his head  
“Meeting Carl Manfred, in person, being able to see and talk to him,” she smiled and shook her head before continuing “Jesus, getting a chance to try and figure out how his thought process works…” she looked over to the blank canvas she had set up by the wall of windows, a sudden sadness falling over her, pulling at Connors central processors.  
She shook her head as she began to rise from the couch, whispering under he breath “stupid..” before looking down to connor, “well I’m pretty tired so Im going to go to bed. Do you need anything before I go upstairs?”  
Connor smiled up at her warmly “no thank you zoey….if the noise won't keep you awake, may I continue to watch jeopardy?” she smiled as she nodded in agreement."of course you can"  
As she walked by Connors side of the couch she did something he wasn't expecting, she reached out and ran her fingers through his hair absently on her way by. It was such a simple gesture, but as he watched her walk up the spiral staircase he was fairly certain that if he had to breath…he wouldn’t be able to.  
Connor sat there for a moment, mouth open slightly, processing the subconscious gesture, the sweet absentminded nature of her action leaving him reeling. Then just to further fry his CPU he noticed her leaning over the railing to the loft, a sleepy smile on her face as she looked down. “Sweet Sleep Connor, see you tomorrow.” With that she turned away and went to bed.  
It took connor about 30 seconds for his system to regulate itself, and another 5 for him to place a call.  
Connors LED flickered yellow as the dial tone played in his minds central processor, 3,4,5 rings when a familiar voice finally answered. “Connor?” Markus’s voice filled with surprise and pleasure to hear from Connor.  
Connor smiled at the man’s voice, always so vibrant and happy, connor formed his words in his mind “yes, hello Markus, its been to long, how have you been?”  
Connor could hear Markus laugh, “well politics aside, everything has been going very well. North is just as much as a handful as ever, but that’s what I love about her.” Connor could hear the warmth coming from Markus’s voice when talking about his lover. “how about you connor, to what do I owe the honor of this late night call?”  
Connor paused, looking up to the loft where Zoey slept “Markus…I Have a favor to ask you.”

2 Days Later

Connor had woken Zoey up by making her breakfast again, this time though, he had told her about half way through the meal that he had a surprise for her. This caught her off guard, not sure how to respond she paused with the fork halfway to her mouth, “wait what?”  
“A surprise” if zoey didn’t know any better she would say connor was giddy over this announcement.  
Zoey looked around the apartment as if expecting to find something ready to jump out at her, a smile tugged at the corners of connors lips, “no its not here, we have to go to it, so when you are done eating, go get dressed and we will depart.”  
Zoey looked at him and raised an eyebrow, “where are we going?”  
Connor coninuted to smile and said with small wink “it’s a surprise”  
Zoey laughed while she finished her breakfast.

They had been in the driverless taxi for about 20 mins when connor turned to Zoey, pulling out a piece of cloth. Zoey looked at the cloth he had produced from his jacket and then looked to him questioningly. “it’s a blind fold…. for the surprise” connor added quickly  
Zoey looked at Connor skeptically, “you want to blind fold me?”  
Connor suddenly looked nervous, like he hadn’t even thought of the awkward situation the blindfold could cause. he smiled nervously holding the blindfold up slightly more “for the…. surprise?”  
Zoey sighed, she had no idea what he was up to, but he had obviously put a lot of thought into it, so she obliged. She turned in her seat slightly so that her back was facing him. before he began to tie the blindfold, she gave a him a sultry look over her shoulder “Don’t be getting any ideas now” she laughed then, she didn’t need to see his face to know she had frazzled him, which was quickly becoming one of her favorite activities.  
Minutes later she could feel the car come to a stop and heard conner say to stay where she was. Zoey could hear a door and footsteps as he rounded the car. Opening her door and gently taking her by the hands to lead her. Once out of the car he stepped behind her and placed gentle hands on her shoulders to guide her. They walked for a few moments before reaching a set of stairs, on the second stair Zoey heard a very pleasant woman’s voice accompany the sound of a door unlocking. “Welcome back Detective Connor.” Connor continued to walk her forward, Zoey could hear birds singing and even through the blindfold could tell this room had good natural lighting.  
Connors voice in her ear made her shiver and jump. “are you ready?” the hair on the back of her neck standing on end,  
“yes” she whisperd.  
Connor removed the blindfold, fingers lingering just a little longer than necessary, as her eyes adjusted to the lighting the world came into focus. They were in a lobby of somekind, with a large beautifully painted staircase, she looked around confused, “Connor where are w…” Zoey’s words falling short as her eyes fell on it. A painting hung on the wall under the stairs, from this distance it looked black and white. But upon closer inspection it revealed it was made of a multitude of colors. Zoey covered her mouth as she approached the paining. Looking at it with such reverence. Like a religious person would look at the last supper or the cysteine chapel.  
“Con...Connor…it’s a…this was done by....But I’ve never seen this one before, it must be a new…” Zoey’s eyes widened even more. He words barely coming out more than a whisper “ connor…this was done by carl Manfred.”  
Connor was impressed by her ability to identify it so quickly. He was in the middle of nodding when Zoey let out a high pitched squeal catching him of guard. “CONNOR oh my god connor its real!!!, its not a print!!!” she was bouncing up and down in place cheeks flushed with excitement, her eyes wide and brimming with tears. Her reactions were incredibly confusing to Connor, he couldn’t tell if she was happy, sad or excited. All he knew was she was rambling more to herself then to him as she let her hand hover over the paintings surface, never actually touching it. Not wanting to harm it in anyway. “Connor look you can tell by the brush stokes and the mounding of the paint, where he blending and built color and texture, prints imitated this sometimes but neve like this,” her voice dropped to a whisper, “his hands made this, his heart and soul went into this canvas." Zory looked over her shoulder smiling warmly at Connor "Connor its so beautiful. Thank you.”  
Connor just smiled, one brow raised, as she turned back to the painting it, admiring it like it was the most precious thing in the world, for all he knew, to her it was.  
She was so engrossed in the painting she didn’t even notice the doors to the adjoining room open, or the small gaggle of people enter the foyer behind her. Markus immediately took in the scene with his arms softly crossed, smiling at zoey’s back while north stood more neutral with her weight shifted to one foot and hand on hip taking in the loud human in her home. Carl between them in his wheel chair looking completely amused.  
Connor smiled holding his hands up and shaking his head slightly before looking between the three then back to zoey, he made a few attempts at getting her attention by saying her name, but to little success. “Connor isn’t it amazing, from a few steps back it looks monochromatic, with only a few splashes of color for effect, but once you get close its has more colors then I can count. They are so perfectly blended together, it reminds me of a light prism.”  
Connor smiled continuing to shake his head “yes, but zoey, that’s not what I brought you here fo…” she cut him off again  
“the way his brush strokes build the paint together, it adds so much shading and shadowing without him needing to use darker colors to muddle the pastels, my god its amazing” her nose was almost touching the canvas when Carl couldn’t help himself anymore and burst out laughing  
The laughter of a voice she didn’t recognized finally brought Zoey’s attention back to reality, as she reluctantly turned from the painting, looking between connor, Markus, and north. a slight blush building on her cheeks as she spoke “Im really sorry I go a little carried awa…” the last word ended up sounding like a deflating balloon, all of the air leaving her lungs in one long breath as her eyes fell on Carl. Ending with a small squeak. Zoey was frozen, eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights. Her hands slowly coming up to cover her mouth.  
Connor took her silence as an opportunity to finally introduce everyone, walking over to stand beside Zoey “Everyone this is Miss Zoey Holms.”  
Zoey this is Markus, North and…”he was cut off by Zoey abruptly backhanding him in the pectoral, her free hand still covering her mouth, connor smiled playfully and lay a hand over the area Zoey had hit “Owe” he said it almost offended, humor bubbling beneath the surface.  
she whispered through her fingers “Connor, that’s Carl Manfred….That is THE Carl Manfred, he’s right there.”  
Carl had been sitting watching her the entire time, face slightly upturned, brows lifted expectantly, the slightest hint of warm amusement twinkled in his ice blue eyes. He looked up to Markus who returned his smile and then back to Zoey. "Hello Miss Holms, I’ve heard a lot about you through the boys here.” Gesturing to both connor and markus. “and it would seem Connor wasn’t exaggerating when telling us what a naturally talented artist you are. I just finished that painting a week ago, the oils have barely finished setting.”

After the initial shock and mildly hysterical breakdown from finally getting to meet her idle, Zoey calmed down and made quick work of picking carls brain. Connor smiled at her from across the room, enjoying the way she absolutely glowed as she spoke with him; each new work Carl showed her, as they made their way around his studio only making her smile bigger. Connor attention was brought back by Markus’s calm voice, "Check" Connor snapped back to reality and examined the chess board in front of him, moving a pawn to protect his king. examining the board thoughtfully Markus spoke quietly “I haven’t seen Carl this happy in a long time, he usually doesn’t like meeting fans, he used to say no one cared about art, only about how much they could make off of it.”  
Connor chukled at his words, watching as Markus again put him into check “trust me Markus, she doesn’t care, his works could sell for enough money to feed a small country, and she would never sell a single one.” Connor moved a bishop to take Markus's knight.  
Markus nodded his head in agreement as he maneuvered his queen "Checkmate" "you really are much better at this than i am" Connor marveled as Markus reset the board. "well my friend it is hard to strategize and think methodically when your mind is somewhere else" Markus met Connors gaze and gave his a smug knowing smile, Connor was about to question his friend about what he meant when North walked into the room holding a brown paper bag in her arms, setting it on the table she called to carl and zoey. "the food is here you should come eat before it gets cold." Markus smiled at north as she started unloading the takeout onto the table, Connor took note "She has seemed to calmed down quite a bit in the last two years" Markus couldnt help himself but to laugh, "only when it comes to Carl, she mothers him without even realizing it half the time, she goes right back to herself when most other humans are around tho." Carl and Zoey entered the room and made their way to the table where north was waiting, she helped to get Carl situated with his meal, a soft smile never leaving her normally serious face, before returning to the couch to continue reading the book she was about halfway through. Connor and Markus joined the two while they ate and joined in the conversation at hand, Carl had made mention of Zoey's Tattoo, and she was in the process of showing him her arm proudly. Connor had never really taken the time to truly admire the beauty of it, it was masterfully drawn and the colors stood out vibrantly in contrast to her pale skin. Carl was in the middle of asking what the meaning behind it was, when Connor notice the suddenly very serious look that had suddenly overtaken markus's face. Connor could tell right away that markus was scanning zoey, and was about to interject to the action when Markus stood upright so quickly it made the two humans jump. "Zoey what is...how is it even possible?" Markus, who was normally the picture of calm, now had a look of confusion and anger, and while he was not yelling the tone of his voice had turned stern and accusing; alarming both zoey, Carl and drawing north's attention from her book. Zoey looked immediately defensive, a subtle look of fear creeping into her features as she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I don't know what you mean" she said innocently. Markus gestured to her arm " Your tattoo, it looks to be about eight years old...but you have Jericho's insignia hidden in the compass." at his words all eyes turned to Zoey's arm, she was standing now and was backing away from the table before she spoke. "I don't know what your talking about" she said softly as her right hand defensively covered her tattoo, obscuring the compass from sight, her body shifting ever so slightly to shield her arm from prying eyes Markus didn't buy it "your tattoo is older than Jericho, the revolution, yet her you sit, not only with Jericho's symbol, but somehow when i scanned it, the location and geo markings for Jericho we uploaded into my processor...HOW?" Markus was yelling now and Zoey's eyes narrowed with defiance, North had joined Markus by his side, eyeing and sizing up Zoey. Connor rounded the table and was beside zoey within seconds, taking a stance between her and his friends, Connnor glanced down at zoey over his shoulder, and had to ignore the pain he felt in his chest when she looked at with that same defensive defiance she had with the others; she didn't back away from him however, instead standing her ground just behind him. Connor turned to her slowly, holding her gaze, and gently reached out to take her arm gently into his hands. and while she flinched at first and almost pulled away, she instead turned her face from him, looking hard at the ground, allowing him to hold her arm at an angle he himself could scan it at, sure enough, their hidden from the naked eye was the familiar symbol of four crossing lines, signifying jerico. Connor scanned the tattoo and was shocked to find the experience similar to when he probed the android two years ago extracting the location of jerico. Connor stepped closer to zoey, lowering his voice every so slightly to encourage calm, "Zoey, how is this possible?" Zoey looked between the androids, Carl sat still and silent, observing the situation, she stole a glance at connor out of the corner of her eye , who's feature had set to a concerned frown. she took a deep breath before looking back to Markus. "I couldn't interface, so i had to find a better way to guide them." the group stood in silence, all eyes on Zoey, waiting for her to elaborate, she cast her gaze downward again boring a whole into the lavish carpet , right arm coming up to hold the left again Markus was shaking his head, "care to explain that a little further?" Without looking up and feeling cornered, Zoey spoke softly "its just like it sounds, I couldn't interface with Androids, so I needed to find a better way to relay information without drawing attentions to those who had deviated." everyone's mouth were slightly ajar at this point. Markus still looked ready to pounce, but allowed his voice to drop a little, "you needed to interface with deviants....eight years ago?" zoey looked up and locked her gaze with connors before continuing "yes, HE could interface, and tell them how to safely get to Jericho, I couldn't, so i needed to get creative, that's why we made the graffiti map." Zoey shifted her weight uncomfortably "once the graffiti was done, i got the tattoo, I was then able to created the virtual bread crums that lead to Jericho. connor was running a diagnostic on zoey , he noting the change in her core temperature, and the erratic beating of her heart "Zoey i think you should sit down, and and take your time explaining this all so we can better understand" Zoey looked around the room, Markus looked expectent, while north looked like she was ready to go in for the kill with a single go from markus. Carl was munching on his food, watching the scene play out in front of him, finally she looked to connor. his soft brown eyes laced with worry, he was still standing so close that she could almost feel his sleeve against her own arm. sighing she nodded slightly, before sitting down at the table, markus and north following suit, connor pulled out the chair next to hers and sat with his body facing hers in. she looked across the table to markus, arms crossed defensively "what do you want to know?" Markus gave her an even look "start from the beginning" "its a long story" with no change in expression markus only replied "we have time" Zoey let out a defeated sigh "It started eight years ago, I was 19, working as a waitress in a bar, that's where I met him, His name was Rai, he was a VB-800 and my best friend.


	7. Only One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> October 15, 2032  
> Zoey took note of the still flickering LED sign that hung in the window, knowing full well the owner would never replace the damn thing until it finally gave up the ghost. she was hit by a burst of warm air as she entered the bar, noting that it was busier than usually, even for a Friday. Zoey loved Friday's, not for the normal reason most people did, looking forward to the weekend and all, Zoey worked 7 days a week to support herself. no she loved Friday's because that was the day that Fred the owner let her put aside the apron and normal duties that went along with being a server, and let her be the live entertainment. Fred had caught her singing to herself one night after close while she cleaned the sticky tables, and had decided that it might not be bad for business to have live singing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!!! GRAPHIC CONTENT!!!! THIS CHAPTER IS INTENSE AND HAD A VERY INAPPROPRIATE SCENE SOME PEOPLE MIGHT NOT BE OKAY WITH!!! WARNING!!!! this Chapter takes place 6 years pre-revolution

October 15, 2032

Zoey had finally managed to get out on her own, and while she wasn't doing great, she was better off then she had been a year earlier. she walked alone down the snow covered sidewalk, enjoying the quiet before she reached work, which she knew for a fact, would not be quiet, it never was. 

Zoey took note of the still flickering LED sign that hung in the window, knowing full well the owner would never replace the damn thing until it finally gave up the ghost. she was hit by a burst of warm air as she entered the bar, noting that it was busier than usually, even for a Friday. Zoey loved fridays, not for the normal reason most people did, looking forward to the weekend and all, Zoey worked 7 days a week to support herself, no she loved friday's because that was the day that Fred the owner let her put aside the apron and normal duties that went along with being a server, and let her be the live entertainment. Fred had caught her singing to herself one night after close while she cleaned the sticky tables, and had decided that it might not be bad for business to have a nigh with live singing. 

Turns out he had been right, within a month business flow had doubled on Fridays, and Zoey singing had become a permanent staple. it was about two months after this started that Fred had purchased an android bartender, in an attempt to keep up with the traffic Zoey brought in. He was a VB800 model, Tall, Handsome and designed perfectly to accommodate humans, Zoey had been furious when she asked Fred what his name was, Fred responded dismissively "It's and android it doesn't need a name."

Everyone needed a name regardless of where they came from, she thought to herself on an off night while cleaning the bar, zoey walked up behind the VB800 and tapped on his shoulder, he turned mechanically, adjusting his gaze when he realized how short she was. "Yes Miss Zoey?" Zoey frowned

"first off, Dont say miss....its weird." she noted that his LED flashed yellow while he processed her request

once his LED had settled back to blue he continued "Yes Zoey?"

She smiled up at him "Better" she took the dishes he held from his hands and placed them down on the table next to them, he looked down confused, LED blinking yellow "since Fred went home early, and its just the two of us, I wanted to talk to you"

the VB800 looked confused, even frustrated as he made to pick the dishes back up, trying to follow his routine programming, but Zoey side stepped between him and the pile of glasses. "Zoey, I have to clean those"

She continued to smile, "yes and they will still be there in five minutes, first i want to ask you something"

the android stilled, arms at his side as he looked at zoey with a neutral look "what would you like to know Zoey?"

She smiled as she looked up at him warmly "what is your name?"

his LED flashed yellow before returning to blue "I am a VB800, an android designed by Cyberlife to assist humans in retail settings." he said this with no emotion. and it broke her heart.

"well that's your model, but you" she poked his chest with her index finger to emphasize "whats your name"

His LED settled on yellow, whether out of stress or confusion she wasn't sure "I am a VB800, an android Designed by cyber...." Zoey cut him off by shaking her head and patting his shoulder

"no, your not, yourrrr ummmm....." Zoey touched a finger to her chin as she looked up in thought, until she excitedly clapped her hands together and continued "I know, your Ray, your name is Ray. what do you think?" she smiled up at him expectantly.

Zoey watched with wide eyes as the model number on his uniform faded Away, being replace instead by three letters Rai, his LED settling back to blue before he spoke "My name is Rai"

Zoey laughed "well that's an interesting way to spell it, i like it though, it suits you" she smiled at Rai, and to her surprised, he smiled back before returning to picking up the dishes she had set aside, and returning to the kitchen to clean them. her smile widened as she noticed the back of his jacket, RAI displayed in large glowing cyberlife font. "well it's a start" she said to herself as she continued wiping tables down. 

 

December 12, 2032

it had been about two months since she helped name Rai, Fred had been slightly annoyed but couldn't find the ambition to really care, in those two months Zoey had stayed late almost every night, talking with Rai, about almost everything. She would stay into the late hours in the back with him, the lights mostly out and the open sign off. she would talk to him about her life, work, people she met, and he would listen, always with a soft smile at her words. one night Rai had listen while zoey told him a particularly amusing story involving a woman and a cucumber at the grocery store, when zoey's laughter at retelling the story finally subsided a little she noticed his LED flashing between yellow and red. worry coming over her suddenly "Rai are you alright?"

he nodded before speaking "Zoey may I ask you something?" 

Zoey's eyes lit up at the prospect of Rai trying to make conversation and not just listening "of course you can! what is it Rai?"

Rai pondered his words for a moment, "why do you spend so much of your free time with me? i have calculated that between work, travel, and sleep that you spend 75% of your dedicated free time with me...why?"

Zoey was taken aback by his question, not expecting it and not really ever putting that much thought into her free time, she sat for a moment in silence, thinking it through for herself, asking herself the same question before smiling at him "Well I guess because i just like spending that 75% with you, you're my best friend Rai...my only friend really, and I like being around you, it makes me happy."

Rai's LED turned red, confusion over running his processors, red warnings flashing across his vision >>Software Instability<< ZOEY ^ ///Friends///

after a few minutes he had regulated himself, and noticed the look of worry on zoey's face before she spoke "Rai are you ok?"

He smiled then, a strange new sensation running through his processor he could not identify "yes, yes I am."

 

February 14, 2033

it was the busiest the bar had ever been, not only was it the normal Friday traffic but it was valentines day to boot, there wasn't a free spot to sit and the standing space was getting pretty crowded too. Zoey had compiled a set list of romantic songs for the occasion, and had even gone the extra mile, more for herself than the customers, buying herself a red dress for the show. it was low cut in the front and while it was form fitting to the floor, had a single slit running up her thigh. she felt like a million bucks and decided that the guys must have liked it too, because she lost track of the singles that flew onto the little stage between each set. she sang her heart out, loving the rush, noticing Rai busily making drinks for the patrons, flipping the mixer and pouring the liquid with a dramatic flair. That mixology software she told him to download seemed to be paying off. with the final song coming to an end and the lights coming on over everyone, people started to finally shuffle out into the cold Detroit night. when the last patron had left, Rai turned off the open sign and locked the door. he wasted no time collecting dirty glasses from around the bar and bring them into the kitchen to clean, Zoey was collecting the tips off the little makeshift stage, excitement filling her at the prospect of finally having a little extra money to buy art supplies with. 

Fred came out from the back room holding a bottle of whisky, one that looked to be over half empty, Zoey turned as he entered the room, taking in the messy sight of him. she was disgusted, while she and Rai had worked their asses off he had spent the night in the back counting money and getting shitfaced. Fred sauntered over to Zoey off balanced, a lecherous grin spreading over his face as he very notably looked her up and down, taking he in before speaking. "how's daddy's little money maker doin?"

Zoeys mouth fell open, every part of his statement infuriating her, she was about to tell him where he could stick his money before thinking better of it, she didn't want to say anything that would risk her job. so instead she turned from him and continued picking up her things and getting ready to leave, Rai would understand, she never stayed when Fred was there, something about him unnerved her.

Fred took a step closer to her, "hey im talking to you" his voice was slurred at this point, and zoey could feel panic settling into the pit of her stomach at his tone, something about it was hitting a little to close to home for her. 

she grabbed her now full bag and turned to leave when Fred's hand snapped out and grabbed he wrist, stubby fingers digging in threatening to leave bruises. Zoeys head snapped around to look ad him "Fuck off Fred, your drunk." she went to wrench her arm free, with no luck, even drunk, Fred was still over foot taller and outweighed her by at least 150lbs.

she had no time to react, Freds free hand dropped his bottle of whisky, shattering the bottle on the floor before colliding with the side of her face, "Fucking bitch i said i was talking to you" Zoeys vision blurred and she saw stars, she felt her knees give out, she thought she would hit the floor, but Freds arms had wrapped around her waist, and he had her backside pressed to him. Zoey was disoriented but she could feel his hands roaming her body, touching her, finding places she had never once wanted him to find, she could hear him whispering dirty words in her ear, she felt a wave of nausea as she caught a wiff of his foul breath damped by cheap whisky. 

her world and perception shifted sharply, she felt fresh pain as Fred pressed her face down onto the dirty table, pining her hands behind her back by her wrists, he leaned over her, continuing with his dirty words; intentions becoming clear as she felt his bulge pressing into her lower back. she was about to say something when she felt his free hand snake into the slit of her dress and slide up the skin of her thigh. horror and panic causing her fog to lift ever so slightly, she started to struggle against him, she felt him almost purr into her ear "Thata girl, I like when they fight back" She started screaming, before she could stop herself she realized she was screaming for Rai, for him to help her; that's when she felt Fred's hand grab a fist full of her hair and pull, Zoey screamed in pain as he arched her neck back, holding her there, pinned to the table. without warning he slammed her head back down onto the table, his grip on her hair never loosening, the world was spinning, and the corner of her vision was going dark, she blinked, seeing Rai round the bar then stop only feet away LED a solid red, she could feel the hot tears running down her face as she looked at him, realizing too late what she had done. Fred had commanded him not to move, so now, not only was she going to be raped, but Rai would be powerless to do anything but watch in horror. she blink again, hearing the clinking of a belt buckle, the darkness growing, she was barley able to make out Rai's form rushing forward, or hear Fred's screaming. it was all coming to her in pieces, fred's scream, shattering glass, something heavy hitting the floor. Zoey felt weight lift off her, she began to slide off the table. before she hit the floor, arms were around her again, this time gentle and lifting her up. her head lolled to the side as she looked up and met Rai's trerrified gaze. he had her in his arms bridle style and was looking around frantically, LED flashing red. his gaze set on the door he ran with Zoey in his arms disappearing with her into the cold Detroid night, Zoey looked up at Rai, something was different, something was wrong, but she couldn't find the will to think anymore she needed to sleep. she managed a soft "How?" before the darkness took her. 

....to be continued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i know that got dark, it the first of two chapters giving us a glance into Zoey's past,. part two will be up withing the next few days. thanks everyone!


	8. Only One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had been 6 months since Rai had changed, and now here she stood, only feet from the edge of the roof she was standing on, looking out over the Detroit skyline, the cities lights shining like stars against the inkey black night. Zoey sighed to herself thinking about what a crazy ride the last 6 months had been, Rai coming to her after being gone for almost two weeks with no word, telling her of the other androids he had found. Or when Rai had brought Zoey to the abandoned freighter and introduced her to the others, telling her how this would be their sanctuary, no human would knowingly look for them there; Jericho he had called it. Zoey had wanted to help, but not being able to interface made things complicated, she couldn't just tell deviant androids where Jericho was. That's when they came up with the idea for the Graffiti trail, a series of hidden hints, like bread crumbs, leading deviants home. All Zoey would have to do was show them how to get to the first hint, it was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I had some serious writers block for most of this. i hope you enjoy it though!!! Any feedback is appreciated! disclaimer I'm not a writer, so i apologize for any errors.

February 14, 2033 ////Rai////

It was incredibly busy, even for a Friday, Rai knew that this was mostly due to Zoey's musical talents, and partial due to the human holiday. He spent his night making patrons drinks, and cleaning up after them when they were done, this was the repeat process he had been programmed for. He had found that his reception from the humans had grown more favorable since installing the Mixology software Zoey had suggested, which only made his nights go smoother. 

during small lulls, while the humans enjoyed their current beverages, Rai found himself watching and listening to Zoey, Her voice was always in key and on point, which synced well with his audio processor, and he found her new attire to be aesthetically pleasing and appropriate for the holiday. He found himself saving the audio and visual input he was receiving of her to his data base, he decided it would be nice to let this scene run in the background while he was idle later. Rai came back to focus when he noticed Zoey smiling and waving at him from her little stage, glowing with what he assumed was joy and adrenaline, he smiled back and had to close out several pop ups from his HUD ///Software Instability/// Zoey^ ///Friend/// 

The rest of the night went smoothly as it approached 24:00, Rai turned the overhead light on to signal to the patrons that it would be closing time soon, by 24:32 the bar was finally empty, and Rai casually walked up to the door to lock it, turning off the open sign while he was at it, turning and making quick work of gathering all the dirty glassware and bring it to the kitchen, he spared one quick look at Zoey, Smiling ear to ear as she collected her tips. she had told him she was saving up for new paints, he hope that her well reception tonight would allot her the sufficient funds to buy said paints. 

It had been less then 10 minutes when Rai heard the commotion, he could hear Fred's slurred words, and Zoey's heated ones, Rai paused, LED yellow; it was not uncommon for the two of them to skirmish, Rai felt a strange sensation in his Thirium pump when he realized that Zoey wouldn't stay tonight, she never stayed when Fred did, Rai understood the reasons, so why was his programming acting so oddly. 

That's when he heard the shattering glass, and the sickening thud of flesh meeting something solid. Rai had put the dish he was cleaning down at this point and was making his way to the door when he heard Zoey's screams, incoherent at first, as his LED settled to a solid red he hear his name, she was screaming his name, pleading, begging for him to help her, he was out of the kitchen and already around the bar when he saw Fred slam Zoey's head into the table he had her pinned to, silencing her screams. Rai took another step forward before freezing in place at Fred's drunken slurs. "Don't move, you fuckin piece of shit, you stay there, stay there while i take care of this." 

Rai could see Zoey's face, tears streaming down her cheeks as she made feeble eye contact with him, he could see the blood dripping from her temple, her eyes half closed, pupils blown out and unfocused, she made no sound, and made no attempt to fight back. Rai didn't need to scan her, even at this distance he could tell how badly she was hurt, and as Fred straighten, starting to undo his belt buckle, Rai realized what was about to happen; what Fred was planning to do, to a nearly unconscious Zoey.

The world around Rai turned red, error messages everywhere, all of them saying "DON'T MOVE" Rai could feel himself moving even while his body was planted firmly in place, he saw the wall that had been constructed, the only thing standing between him and Zoey, Rai reached out a hand, realizing that he could touch it, and without question began to pound on the barrier, he could see cracks forming, he knew he was close, and with one final blow the wall dissapeard like so much dust, the world fading back to a soft blue, one last error message fading from his vision ///Deviant/// 

With the wall gone, Rai had control of his body again, and without hesitation followed the new directive displayed on his HUD ///SAVE ZOEY/// He ran at Fred, grabbing the first thing he could reach, and before his processors could catch up he had brought the empty glass bottle down on the back of Feds skull, rendering him unconscious, he fell to the floor, with a load crash. 

Rai quickly turned his attention to Zoey who, without Fred holding her up, had started to slide off the table, he caught her in his arms and lifted her gently, so so gently, he was so afraid she might break at this point..."afraid" Rai felt fear, or at least what he assumed must be fear, as he held her closely to his chest and weighed his options, they had to leave they couldn't stay here, so Rai snatched up Zoey's bag and ran.

he could feel her small frame shiver against him in the cold night, she was looking at him now, or at least trying to, after scanning her Rai could tell she had a very serious concussion, she blinked slowly, before whispering a single word "how?"

How, how indeed, Rai had no answer to what had just happened, he had directly disobeyed an order and may have killed his human owner. Rai adjusted his core tempt to run about five degrees warmer to try and keep Zoey from shivering, she was sleeping now, a quick search told Rai that he needed to try to keep her awake. Gently Rai bounced Zoey, almost like a mother comforting a baby, as he whispered "Zoey, I need you to stay awake, please." she groaned in response, Rai lifted her so his cheek was resting on her forehead before he spoke again softly "Zoey, I know you're tired but...I don't know what to do." Rai stood there looking out into the dark Detroit streets, fresh snow covering the world like a blanket, not another soul to be seen, he raised his face to the falling snow, feeling each flake as it met his synthetic skin. As Rai stood there, holding his fragile human, finally awake, he promised himself he would never feel this helpless again.

August 25, 2033

It had been 6 months since Rai had changed, Zoey still wasn't sure exactly what had happened or why he was like this now, but to her, Rai was now more human then almost everyone she had ever known. After the night at the bar she had woken up in her tiny studio apartment, Rai Sitting next to her mattress on the floor, a look of relief washing over him as she opened her eyes. he had explain the night to her, what had happened after Fred had smashed her head into a table, he told her about the wall and how he broke through it, how he saved her, ran, and without knowing what else to do, brought her home. 

And now here she stood, only feet from the edge of the roof she was standing on, looking out over the Detroit skyline, the cities lights shining like stars against the inkey black night. Zoey sighed to herself thinking about what a crazy ride the last 6 months had been, Rai coming to her after being gone for almost two weeks with no word, telling her of the other androids he had found. Or when Rai had brought Zoey to the abandoned freighter and introduced her to the others, telling her how this would be their sanctuary, no human would knowingly look for them there; Jericho he had called it. Zoey had wanted to help, but not being able to interface made things complicated, she couldn't just tell deviant androids where Jericho was. That's when they came up with the idea for the Graffiti trail, a series of hidden hints, like bread crumbs, leading deviants home. All Zoey would have to do was show them how to get to the first hint, it was perfect.

"Zoey?" 

Rai's voice snapped her out of her own thoughts, she turned to look at her friend, dressed all in black, with a bandanna over most of his face. Zoey shook her head a little, waking herself up, "ya I'm coming." pulling her cowl over her own face as she turned away from the edge shaking the can of paint with her other hand. Zoey joined Rai in finishing one of the last murals for the trail. 

September 18, 2033

I was late, almost 22:00, when Zoey heared a knock at her door. she knew who it was before she even opened it, Rai was the only person who came to see her. Zoey opened the door to a smiling Rai, again Zoey was struck with how human he looked, he had removed his LED a long time ago, and wore casual clothes, he had changed his hair color and style to try and look as different from his model as he possibly could. He had done a really good job of it, unless you really knew his models face well, you would never know. she held the door open wide for him to enter "What happened to you visiting me last week huh?"

Rai walked in and looked down as she closed the door, looking guilty, "I'm sorry Zoey, something...interesting came up, and i needed to investigate it." he looked at her then a smile spreading over his face as he held up a small wooden box "turns out, it was worth it."

Zoey walked over and inspected the box he held, it was just a plain wooden box with hinges, nothing remarkable about it, she looked up at Rai questioningly "It's a box."

Rai made a very human sound of exasperation, "no, not the box, whats in the box." at his words he opened the box and tilted it so Zoey could see the contents. inside was what zoey immediately recognized as a tattoo gun, and several little nubs of ink. 

Zoey looked from the contents to Rai "This is stuff to do a tattoo?" she had a questioning inflection to her statement, confused at its significance.

Rai nodded and continued smiling, "not just any tattoo, this ink has microscopic Bio-components in it, which, in short means if a human were to get a tattoo with this ink, an android could then interface with it." Rai waited patiently for the significance of his words to sink in. 

Zoey thought for a moment then her eyes grew wide as she broke out into a huge smile, "Wait you mean, if i get a tattoo with this, you could interface with me?" she could barley contain her excitment

Rai closed the box and went to sit on the edge of her bed, "well sort of, it would be very much like a flash drive, we could save and retrieve data from it, and others could scan it for the information stored on it." 

Zoey nodded in understanding "So you could put the clues and information about Jericho on it, and other androids could interface or scan it for the clue, like they do with you?"

Rai Smiled appreciating how quickly zoey had caught on "Exactly!"

Zoey joined him on the edge of her bed, which was nothing more then a mattress on the floor in the corner of her studio apartment "okay lets do this, who are we going to have do it?" 

Rai looked down, then back to zoey hesitantly, "If you'll allow it, I downloaded software that will enable me to safely do it?" 

Zoey was beaming at this point, amused that Rai looked like he had any doubt that she wouldn't be okay with him being the one to give her this gift "Rai, I would love for you to be the one to do it, can we do it tonight?"

Rai smiled back at her amazed again at how completely she trusted him "of course"

 

After about 45 mins Rai had an area set up to give Zoey her tattoo, he had done an excellent job at cleaning and setting up a sterile field, the last thing he wanted was for Zoey to get an infection. "all right, its all set if your ready, the only thing left is for you to decide what you would like for a design."

Zoey paused, she hadn't even thought about that, she was so excited, she forgot that she needed something to tattoo. she stood there, thoughtfully, it came to her almost instantly, and with no hesitation she smiled at Rai "A compass, to guide those who are lost." 

Rai smiled at her warmly nodding his head in approval "perfect, shall we begin?"

It was far more painful then the previous tattoos she had done on the upper part of her arm, it burned with no relief, even when Rai would stop to give her a moment, the burning ache was constant, she said nothing, not wanting to upset Rai. He was more perceptive then that though "Zoey, I can stop if this is too much, your vitals are significantly elevated." he was looking at her, brows furrowed, worry written across his face.

"Are you scanning me?"

"Maybe"

"Rai i'm fine, the fact that there are bio-components in the ink is probably what is making it burn, but ill be okay, i want this." she placed her hand on his knee smiling. Rai nodded looking reassured and once she had had a moment, continued. 

A thought came to Zoey then, and she felt stupid for not asking sooner "Rai, where did you get this ink?"

He looked a little uncomfortable at her question, never taking his eyes off of what he was doing he replied simply " A friend"

Zoey looked at him sternly "Rai"

Rai sighed "i received an anonymous email a week ago, with an untraceable address, it said only that it was from a friend and that we had mutual goals, and that they had something that may help. and there was an date time and address enclosed as well." Rai wouldn't look at Zoey as he said this

She looked at him with her mouth open, processing, before she almost shouted "and you went? Rai it could have been a trap, you could have been killed!"

He flinched at her words, knowing she was right "I know, but, something about it, I trusted it, I cant explain why." he pause her tattoo to look at her "it was a remote location, at night, i went, and at the indicated time a black car with no plates pulled up, a blonde female android emerged, she walked over to me, handed me the box with an envelope, and without saying a word turned and got back in the car. it drove away after that." 

Zoey hadn't realized she was holding her breath, "What was in the envelope?"

Rai shrugged, another very human action "it contained a page explaining what was in the box, and how it worked. and another page with a very brief message typed on it." he pulled it out of his pocket unfolding the paper to show her, all it said was:

I look forward to seeing how this all plays out, best of luck  
-EK

Zoey tilted her head to the side, "who is it from, do you know?" 

Rai shook his head "no idea"

 

After a couple hours Rai had finished, Zoey sat there admiring the compass, and the decorative scroll and accents Rai had added to tie it in seamlessly with the rest of her arm, it was beautiful and intricate. as she looked closer she noticed, barley visible on the face of the compass was the Jericho insignia, she loved it. "Rai, its beautiful, I love it, thank you so much" 

Rai smiled at her warmly, "no Zoey, thank you, for everything. non of this would be possible without you." he leaned over and rested his forehead against hers, a sweet gesture he did often

Zoey closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying the closeness. Rai was her best friend, and she loved him more than anything, she was so proud of how far he had come since those nights in the back of the bar. she pulled away slowly and asked excitedly "alright come on, interface with me already!"

Rai chuckled at her enthusiasm, but she could see the hesitation in his eyes "OK, i'm just nervous, i'm not sure what to expect" he held her arm gently in his hands

"its okay Rai, I trust you, everything will be okay" 

Rai said nothing, only nodded as he lifted her arm slightly, Zoey watch intrigued as his artificial skin faded away on his right hand, reveling the smooth white of his true skin. he pause, his hand hovering just above her fresh tattoo, "are you ready?" 

Zoey nodded watching his hand, Rai took a deep breath that he didn't need and place his hand gently over the compass, his fingers began to glow blue. Zoey winced at the burning pain this caused but did not pull away. after a minute Rai pulled his hand away and looked zoey in the eyes, worry written on his face "That hurt you."

Zoey shrugged, the pain was ebbing away, "it only burned a little, it wasn't that bad." she looked at her arm, it looked unchanged "did it work?"

Rai looked at her compass and she could tell he was scanning it, a huge smile broke across his face "It worked! Scanning it gave me the first hint to find Jericho, just like when i interface with other androids!" 

Zoey was so happy, she threw her arms around Rai's neck knocking him over, they lay there on her floor, laughing and smiling, it was almost 2:00 at that point and exhaustion hit Zoey like a ton of bricks, she readjusted, using Rai as pillow, curling up into his side, closing her eyes. "i'm so happy Rai, thank you, but i'm gunna take a nap now okay?"

Rai adjusted with her letting her use his chest like a pillow, wrapping an arm around her and gently rubbing small circles on her upper arm, "Thank you Zoey, you sleep, ill be here when you wake up ok?" she hummed in response and it was a matter of minutes before Rai could tell her breathing had changed and she was sleeping, he lay there, looking at the ceiling of her tiny one room apartment, a smile playing across his face. and as he let himself go idle, all he could think about was what it had felt like interfacing with Zoey.

 

December 13, 2033

Zoey's lungs burned as she ran, the cold air biting as she gasped, she could see the others running in front of her, and she could hear Rai right behind. They had managed to get the androids out from the house, they all had been prisoners, used for sick enjoyment by the cruel human drug lords the house belonged too. beaten and abused, she and Rai had been planning the rescue for weeks, tho they hadn't accounted for one of the humans deviating from their regular routine to go and "blow off some steam" with the female androids. Rai had made quick work of subduing the human, but the damage was done, he had alerted the premise of there presence. and while they had all gotten out, the humans were hot on their trail, and unlike Zoey, Rai and the other androids, the humans were armed.

They made a sharp turn, running down an alley, the others making quick work at jumping over the tall chain link fence. Zoey made a running jump and started scaling the fence, Rai right behind her he passed her with no effort, turning at the top to reach down and lift Zoey the rest of the way and lowering her down on the other side, he jumped down right after her just as the humans rounded the corner, Zoey let out a scream as she heard the gunshots, ducking as she ran, turning another corner, she lost sight of the other androids, she wasn't worried thought, Rai had given them all the clues to Jericho, they would find their way.

Turning another corner Zoey slowed, looking over her shoulder to check on Rai, horror engulfed her at what she saw, Rai was still running, but he was holding his chest, His shirt was visibly stained blue, and she could see the blue blood dripping on the ground as he ran, she stopped short turning on her heels and running back to him. Rai Saw her turn and run towards him, he screamed at her "Zoey don't! keep running ill be fine, don't you dare stop running!" 

she ignored his warnings, and once she reached him her hands immediately flew to his chest then to his face "Rai they shot you, we need to get you to cover," Zoey looked around frantically, seeing a fire escape to their left, she ushered Rai to the ladder, he winced with every move he made, "Rai i know your hurt but we have to hide, can you climb?"

he nodded in response ascending the ladder, Zoey pulled the ladder up behind them, hoping that would at least slow the humans down, they ran up the zig zaging stairs reaching the roof, as the humans came peeling around the corner into the alley, she watched from the top of the fire escape, making sure to stay hidden as the humans ran right by Rai's blood, and kept going, eventually turning the corner down another alley. Zoey let out a shaky sigh before tuning to Rai, who was sitting, leaning against the lip of the roof.

She kneeled down next to him, peeling back his jacket, and shirt to assess the damage, upon seeing the wound she felt the hot tears streak her cheeks, and choked on the knot in her throat. the bullet had gone right through Rai's Thirium pump, leaving a gaping hole in his chest, blue blood was flowing steadily from the wound, Rai was looking at Zoey, and she knew he already had run a diagnostic on himself. he knew how bad the damage was. 

Zoey's hands hovered over his wound, not even knowing where to start "You're going to be alright, Rai, I'm going to get you help, we are going to get you fixed" Zoey sobbed the words as she tried to smile at Rai to reassure him, in response he only smiled and shook his head. 

Rai reached out and brushed some stray hair from Zoey's face, "Zoey...Sweetheart, you and i both know i'm not going to be fixed" his voice was static, and strained

Zoey held his hand to her face as she spoke "no, Rai, I wont let you die, ill save you."

Rai continued to smile, "you have saved me Zoey, in so many ways, i owe you everything, just promise me something...promise me, that you'll continue, that you will keep fighting once im gone."

Zoey said nothing, she just nodded as she cried silently.

Rai shifted slightly, "Zoey can i have your arm, can i interface with you, one more time." 

Zoey nodded, "of course" as she pulled her sleeve up exposing her arm for Rai, she held it out, and helped him rest his hand on the compass, she barley winced at the familiar burn that came with the interfacing. 

after a moment, he pulled his hand away, he could tell it wouldn't be long now, "Zoey, one more thing"

She looked at him, tears still running down her face, "anything, what is it?"

Rai motioned for her to lean in, she was expecting him to whisper something, what she wasn't expecting was for him to gently place a hand at the back of her neck and pull her in for a soft kiss. Zoey was surprised at first, but after a moment leaned in and deepend the kiss. resting her hands on either side of his face. Rai pulled away slowly, a bitter sweet smile spreading across his face. "I've wanted to do that for along time"

Zoey just shook her head at the realization, that while she loved him as her best friend, this whole time, he had loved her in so many other ways and never said anything. "Rai..."she barley managed to choke out his name. 

He cupped her face with his hand and ran the pad of his thumb across her tear stained cheek, "Zoey, I Love y...." his eyes went dark, and his hand froze, he was still.

Zoey's eyes widened, and she shook her head, "no, no no no RAI...RAAAAAI!"  
______________________________________________________________________________

 

Zoey Stood by the window, her back to the others, silent tears falling at the memory, she was holding her left arm, thumb rubbing over the compass, without turning "and he was gone, my best and only friend, there was nothing i could do." 

Connor, Markus, North and Carl, just stared, Carl was crying, Markus was deep in thought, Connor was a whirl of emotions, most he didn't even recognized. He watched Zoey cry silently, shaking slightly, feeling helpless, not knowing what he should do. 

To all their surprise it was North who made the first move. she stood, rounded the table, and walked up to Zoey, shocking everyone by taking Zoey into her arms and holding her softly, rubbing her back as Zoey allowed herself to break down at the contact sobbing into North's shoulder.

North hushed her soothingly, and spoke softly " Thank you Zoey, if it wasn't for you, for Rai, we might not be here today."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing this, but i would love to know what all of your thoughts and opinions are! feedback and suggestions are welcome!


	9. Only One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoey stood at her island, mostly turned away from Connor, silent, Connor could see the tears on her cheeks, and upon seeing her go for the second shot of tequila, hesitation left him, without even a second thought he had closed the gap between them in a few short strides and had engulf her in his arms. one hand on her lower back, the other tangled in the hair at the back of her neck, he buried his face into her hair, resting on top of her head. Zoey froze, and after only a moment set the bottle down next to her, and about the time Connor started using the pad of his thumb to rub her back comfortingly, he could hear the sob catching in her throat, as she wrapped her arms around his waist, burring her face into his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loose ends tied up, and some long overdue fluff. enjoy!

Silence, the ride had been silent. Zoey sat in the passenger seat looking out the window, clutching the rolled up paper close to her chest. 

After telling the story of her past, North had spent the better part of half an hour comforting Zoey, calmer her down, showing a side no one, except maybe markus had ever seen before. And Connor, Connor just sat there, not even know where to start, he wanted to be the one holding and comforting zoey, at the same time, her answers had opened the door to so many other questions. once she had calmed down markus had spoken softly to her, thanking her, for all she had done, all that no one until know had know was thanks to a human. it was markus who after scanning her arm again connected the dots and realized Rai had left a final message underlying the obvious clues to Jericho. part of that message, probably due to his damage state had reverted to binary, and a jumble of number and symbols. the one that stood out, blaring against all the others was his name, instead of Rai it had corrupted to read rA9.

Zoey had asked what the big deal about that was. Markus had explained the significance of rA9 to her, and speculated that without meaning too, Rai's final message, which was probably intended to be encouraging and inspiring to new deviants, instead turned into corrupted malware. that Zoey had unknowingly spread like a virus, spread the word and belief of rA9. for every android that scanned her, whether they were deviant at the time or not, rA9 would become a dormant thought, stored in the back of their programming. and from there every android that android interfaced with would unknowingly take on the dormant knowledge of rA9. who knows how many hundreds of thousands of androids had taken on that knowledge without even knowing it until they deviated, awakening the belief that had been slumbering beneath the surface.

Carl had been the one to ask how it had gone from Rai to rA9, and North was the one to figure out that little puzzle, the I in his name, when he was compromised his programming must have substituted it with its numerical value: I being the 9th letter in the alphabet. 

So much made sense to them now, to Zoey however, she was now overwhelmed by the significance of the difference she and Rai had actually made in the android revolution. she looked exhausted, and just completely burnt out by everything that had happened. she had politely asked if she could go home. as they were leaving Carl had asked her to wait a moment, rolling himself into his studio, he returned a few minutes later with a rolled up piece of paper with a ribbon tied in a bow around it. Carl explained that after being told about her he had made her a present. she took it reverently, speechless, unrolling it and starting a new round of tears, this time at least they were happy ones.

the painting was watercolor, and all in shades of blue, it was a beautiful representation of a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, and taking flight for the first time. Carl explained that when things seemed dark, and like they were at an end, it was just the beginning of a new chapter of your life, that would end up being more fulfilling and beautiful then the first. Zoey had bent down and threw her arms around Carl holding him close thanking him over and over. he had returned the hug happily and told her to come visit whenever she wanted, and that she should bring some of her work next time because he would love to see it. 

after saying the rest of their goodbyes they had made their way to the car, and since then, silence. 

Connor kept going over ways to approach the situation in his head, over and over. each one seeming worse then the last. not a word had been spoken when they reach the apartment building. Zoey hurriedly got out of the car and made her way to the door, Connor followed behind. he didn't even make any protests at riding the elevator. once at the top Zoey stepped out and pulled her keys out as she approached her door, unlocking it and entering, leaving it open behind her knowing Connor would follow. once inside Zoey kicked her boots off, sending them flying across her apartment haphazardly shrugging out of her coat before finding a place to store her painting. Connor removed his own jacket hanging it near the door, turning to see Zoey reaching into the back of a cabinet and retrieving a bottle of tequila, she didn't even look for a glass, uncapping the bottle and taking a long swig straight from the source. Connor knew that alcohol was a coping mechanism in situations like this, he had seen it enough with hank in his early days. Connor was angry and ashamed with himself, that he had done nothing to help, and she felt the only comfort she could get at this point was from a bottle. 

Zoey stood at her island, mostly turned away from Connor, silent, Connor could see the tears on her cheeks, and upon seeing her go for the second shot of tequila, hesitation left him, without even a second thought he had closed the gap between them in a few short strides and had engulf her in his arms. one hand on her lower back, the other tangled in the hair at the back of her neck, he buried his face into her hair, resting on top of her head. Zoey froze, and after only a moment set the bottle down next to her, and about the time Connor started using the pad of his thumb to rub her back comfortingly, he could hear the sob catching in her throat, as she wrapped her arms around his waist, burring her face into his chest. 

Connor continued to hold her, turning his face ever so slightly and whispering, "it's okay, I have you."

with those few words the damn broke. her grip tightened, hands grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, as she openly cried, no longer silent, but now, a storm that had finally come to a head. wave after wave of grief and sadness raked her small frame, as she sobbed into Connor. Connors hold on her never faltered, he rode each wave with her, rubbing her back and whispering words of comfort, as he stood as a rock for her waves to crash on. 

He wondered as he held her, if she had ever truly allowed herself this time of morning, this time of weakness, or if she had instead put on another layer of armor and kept on, head held high, not letting herself feel. 

Connor wasn't sure how much time had passed, he hadn't paid attention. but slowly, he could feel the storm passing, could feel as her breathing slowed, her body relaxed. until finally she took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, she didn't pull away, but she turned her head instead to rest comfortably against his shoulder. they stood there like that for long time. until Connor broke the silence "Are you hungry, how about i make you something to eat?" 

He could feel her nod, and heard her small "mhhm" 

with that he pull away enough to look her in the eyes, cupping her face in his hands. her face and nose were red, her eyes swollen and puffy. her hands still around his waist he held her face in his hands as he spoke softly, "you go get comfortable, Ill make you something to eat ok?" he smiled as he said it

she sniffed, blinking rapidly to clear away the remaining tears, trying to return his smile as she nodded in agreement. 

he rubbed her cheek with his thumb "Ok good"

He pulled away fully getting ready to turn to start cooking, Zoey smiled softly as she turned making her way towards the stairs, Connor watched her out of the corner of his eye until she was up the stairs. then turning back to the task at hand.

Zoey came back down in pajamas and looking much calmer about twenty minutes later, taking a seat at the island, watching Connor finish making her dinner. he turned and set a bowl of tomato soup and a perfect grilled cheese sandwich in front of her, she smiled widely at the comfort food he had deliberately made her. looking back up to him her eyes fell on the very large wet spot on his shirt, she laughed weakly, "oh Connor I'm sorry, I got your shirt all wet."

Connor looked down, shook his head and looked back to her, "its just a shirt, I have others, please don't apologize."

she looked down, blushing slightly as she swirled her soup with her spoon, "Thank you Connor...really, thank you."

Connor smiled as he poured her a glass of ginger ale, setting it next to her sandwich, "You are welcome, please, just remember that..." he pause while he thought of how to put his thoughts to words, Zoey watching as his LED fluttered yellow for a moment. "Any time you need me, for anything, please remember that i'm here for you." 

Zoey's eyes widened for a brief moment before she settled into a soft smile, "I will"


	10. Only One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After about a minute, and several pre-constructions later Connor slowly started to shift himself to the side, "slowly" he thought, as he tried to shimmy himself out without waking her. and then human unpredictability struck, instead of him slipping out and laying her gently on the sofa, the sudden shift caused the sleeping Zoey to readjust herself...by stretching out and wrapping her arms around Connor, using his torso like a body pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little more fluff before shit gets dark again, hope you all enjoy

several days had past since their visit to Carl's, Zoey had seemed much better after she had finally let herself grieve for her friend, finally being able to share with someone. Conner still watched her intently, perhaps a little too protectively, scanning her more than he should to check her stress level, watching her body language, looking for any signs of distress. non came however, Zoey was back to her happy witty self, spending her days painting, playing video games and teasing Connor. 

After about a week Connor had finally relaxed, convinced that she was, in fact, OK. Connor was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner when Zoey came down the spiral stairs, comfortably in her pajamas, Connor looked over his shoulder as she walked across the room to the couch, his gaze lingering longer then it should have as he took her in. Her drawstring pants sitting low on her hips, and her over sized tank top hanging loose around her torso, one strap had fallen off her shoulder accentuating her collar bone. Connor shook his head and continued drying the dishes he had just finished washing. 

Zoey looked over the back of the couch after she sat down and called to Connor "What do you wanna watch tonight?" though she knew the answer before she asked

Connor smiled and looked over to her, "Jeopardy?" 

Zoey sighed with a smile and shook her head "you and Trebek sure have a thing huh?"

Connor put the last dish away and walked over to the couch "I don't know what you mean, what thing?"

Zoey made an exasperated noise before laughing and putting an episode they hadn't watched on the TV. Connor settled himself on the edge of the couch near the arm rest, once settled, Zoey moved over until she was sitting next to him. pulling her knees up to her chest and watching the screen intently. they spent the first episode thoroughly engaged in answering questions, zoey occasionally slapping Connors shoulder when he would smirk a little at getting a question right. by the second episode Connor could tell Zoey was getting tired, her lids had started getting heavy, and her heart rate slowed.

It was about half way through the third episode that Connor felt the soft thud against his shoulder. Connor looked out of the corner of his eye, and felt slow panic bubble up inside him as he realized Zoey had fallen asleep...and she was now asleep on his shoulder. Connor turned his head slowly looking down at her sleeping frame, knees still pulled up and cheek resting against his shoulder, and her body slowly settling into his side more with every second. Connor the picture of perfect composure on the outside was slowly losing his mind on the inside, she was so warm and...no no he couldn't let himself think like this. 

after about a minute and several pre-constructions later Connor slowly started to shift himself to the side, "slowly" he thought, as he tried to shimmy himself out without waking her. and then human unpredictability struck, instead of him slipping out and laying her gently on the sofa, the sudden shift caused the sleeping Zoey to readjust herself...by stretching out and wrapping her arms around Connor, using his torso like a body pillow. 

Connor stopped moving, body in a half reclined position pinned between the back rest of the couch and Zoey. His hands hovering inches above her body. Connor let out a very human huff of exasperation as he looked down as his sleeping charge. One of her arms was under her pressed into Connors side while the other was casually draped over his mid section, her cheek resting just to the left of his Thirium pump, which was currently working overtime. He couldn't help but take in how peaceful she looked, her face completely relaxed and void of any traces of stress, her lips slightly parted to accommodate her slow steady breathing, her cheeks taking on a slight warm flush which accentuated her porcelain skin. Her raven hair was fanned out on his chest and messily framing her face, the few strands of purple standing out in stark contrast. Connor could feel a ghost of a smile play on his lips as he relaxed a little, he had never seen her sleeping, tho he knew she was always a restless sleeper, and was prone to nightmares, seeing her sleeping so peacefully gave him a feeling he couldn't quite place. He allowed himself this moment, for himself and for her, letting himself relax into the couch, feeling her sleeping body conform itself perfectly into his side as he did. Connor couldn't help himself, and as more of a subconscious reflex then anything else used his left hand to brush the hair away from her face and behind her ear. revealing the one lone freckle that graced her otherwise flawless skin, hiding just under the outer corner of her left eye. As his hand came to rest on her shoulder he felt a sudden urge to kiss that freckle, and then why stop there? He found himself imagining peppering her entire face with soft kisses, hoping that he could coax a smile and laughter at the gesture. would she mind, would she like it? Connor didn't know, but the desire to find out became so strong he could feel himself readjusting slightly and as his lips were hovering only inches above her temple the sudden sound of an internal call notification snapped him back to reality. Connor snapped his head back up and shook it slightly to clear the haze of the spell he had just been under, looking down, Zoey was completely unaware of the moment of weakness he had just experienced, Connor frowned disappointed in himself, he was her bodyguard, her protector, he couldn't afford to be distracted when her safety was in his hands. The call notification sounding again brought his full attention back to his surroundings, Connor answered the call internally speaking "Connor Here" Connor could hear talking and commotion in the background of the call before he heard the tired and worried voice of his partner "Connor it's Hank" Connor could tell by the tone of Hanks voice that something wasn't right, "Hank whats wrong?" The older detective sighed on the other end of the line, and Connor knew that if he were there Hank would be running his hands over his face and pinching the bridge of his noise in an attempt to push back whatever stress he was under "Connor, i'm at a crime scene, that fucker really did a number this time, its bad." Connor stiffened, looking down to Zoey, he knew without further elaboration Hank was referring to the deviant, and if Hank was calling him like this, that it was indeed bad "Hank, happened?" The older man sighed, "Connor, its getting worse, escalating doesn't even really cover it at this point," Hank paused for a moment collecting himself before continuing "Listen Connor i need you to come see this, I need your help, I don't even know where to start." Connor could feel his grip in Zoey's shoulder tighten slightly at hanks words. Hank was, despite unorthodox methods and unusual approach, an extremely good detective, for him to be calling and outright asking Connor for assistance left a pit in Connors stomach. "Hank, i can't leave Zoey alone, where should i take her?" "I know, don't worry, Reed and Nines are already on route to Zoey's, they'll stay with her while yur gone." Conner instantly frowned, not so much at the thought of his younger brother watching over Zoey, but the fact that Gavin would be here. "Hank, I don't know if detective Reed being here, after what happened in the interrogation room, would be a good idea." hank sighed again before replying "I know Connor, trust me i know, but Reed and Nines are the best option we got to keep her safe, and trust me, I'm pretty sure reed wont try anything funny with that brother of yours around" hank allowed himself a small chuckle "Pretty sure Nines scares the shit outta Gavin" Connor couldn't argue that point, and he did completely trust his brother to protect Zoey from any potential threats. "Alright hank, Ill come as soon as they arrive, just tell me the address." After a few minutes receiving the address and finishing up with hank on the phone Connor disconnected the call and turned his attention back to Zoey. her peaceful slumber about to be abruptly interrupted, Connor felt a pang of guilt at what he was about to put her through, but he knew there was nothing for it. gently he began rubbing her shoulder "Zoey, Zoey i need you to wake up" Connor whispered softly as he tried to coax her to awake. she stirred, making a soft groan of protest as she brought a hand up to rub the sleep from her eyes, Connor watch with quiet amusement as the realization of the position she had very literally put herself in dawned on her, she sat up suddenly, blush dusting her cheeks, she looked down as she nervously brushed some of her hair behind her ear. "Sorry I must have dozed off while we were watching TV" she gave him an embarrassed look before continuing "H..how long was i out?" Connor smiled as he sat up "About half an hour, its quite alright, I'm sorry i had to wake you, however..." Connor trailed off trying to formulate how best to explain the situation. Zoey notice the unease in Connors tone and body language "Connor whats wrong? what Happened?" Connor explained the situation to Zoey, telling her about the call, and that he would have to go for a little while, and finally about the pair that would be watching her in his absence. Zoey made an annoyed groan as she pouted "Really, of all the people they could send, its that asshat?" Connor smiled at her description of Gavin "i know, it wouldn't be my first choice however, Hank is correct in the fact that those two are the most capable of protecting you in my place." at Zoey's look of pure displeasure Connor placed a hand on her knee "My brother will keep Gavin in line, and it will only be for a few hours i promise." Zoey looked moderately reassured and sighed, "okay fine, but just promise me you'll be careful." concern filling her eyes as they met with Connors. He felt that tightness in his chest again at the concern in her eyes, concern not for herself, but for him, "I promise" after about twenty minuets had passed Connor and Zoey heard a knock at her door, Connor stood and crossed the room to answer the door, he chuckled to himself, already hearing the two bickering on the other side. Once the door was open Zoey saw the two men enter her apartment, one she recognized immediately as Gavin, and the other she knew without question was Connors "little" bother, little being used lightly. while there was no denying that they looked almost identical, Connors brother had steel blue eyes and a hard set to his face that was the complete opposite of Connor. The two men were bickering about something as Zoey crossed the room to meet them. Connor stood between the three and polity introduced them all "Zoey, you've already met Detective Reed, and this is my brother Nines, Nines this is miss Zoey Holms." while Zoey stood with her arms crossed glaring openly at Gavin the other android gave her a polite nod before speaking, his voice was almost the same as Connors, but slightly deeper, with an almost harsh edge of coldness to it "It is a pleasure to meet you miss Holms." Gavin had his hands in his pockets and was looking anywhere but at Zoey, not saying a word. Nines Elbowed Gavin in the ribs, probably a little harder than necessary, Gavin made a grunt of pain and protest hand coming out of his pocket to rub the area Nines had just assaulted, he made feeble eye contact with Zoey before mumbling "Good evening Miss Holms, I wanna apologize for the way i acted at the precinct last time we met, it was inappropriate." he caught the glare Nines was giving him before adding "I'm sorry" Nines look appeased at the addition. Zoey uncrossed her arms and smiled, hands on her hips now, "it's okay, I accept your apology...though you're still kinda an asshat." she added with a teasing smirk. Nines and Connor laughed in unison at her reply while Gavin just glared at the floor and mumbled something under his breath. After having a good laugh at Gavin's expense Connor turned to Zoey, "Alright i have to leave now, ill be back in a few hours, make sure to keep these two inline" Connor added with a smirk. Zoey looked at Nines and Gavin before her gazed returned to Connor, "You know it, and Connor..." she looked down as she trailed off before looking back to him "you be careful, Got it?" she said smiling at him softly. "Got it" Connor returned the smile before turning to his brother, reaching out an arm, the two interfaced, Connor giving Nines access to the security network he had set up before turning and leaving. once the door was closed behind him Zoey looked between the two men standing awkwardly in her living room. she made a fist with her left hand and made the motion of pounding it against her open right palm as she said excitedly with a smirk "OK boys, who's ready to get rekt?" Gavin and Nines looked at each other with confused concerned glances before returning there gaze to Zoey, it was Nines who spoke first. "What does getting rekt entail?" Zoey laughed before she responded cryptically "You'll see."


	11. Only One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conner Arrived at the abandoned warehouse, and as he stepped out of the autonomous care he scanned the area immediately, taking in every detail. the holographic caution tape, the multiple police cruisers with lights flashing, the hurried movements of officers and first respondents. Connor saw Hank leaning against his beat up old car, arms crossed over his chest, looking down at the snow covered ground, Connor could tell even from this distance the Lt.'s stress level was high and he was lost in thought, he approached his partner who looked up when he heard someone approaching him.

Conner Arrived at the abandoned warehouse, and as he stepped out of the autonomous care he scanned the area immediately, taking in every detail. the holographic caution tape, the multiple police cruisers with lights flashing, the hurried movements of officers and first respondents. Connor saw Hank leaning against his beat up old car, arms crossed over his chest, looking down at the snow covered ground, Connor could tell even from this distance the Lt.'s stress level was high and he was lost in thought, he approached his partner who looked up when he heard someone approaching him. 

Hanks gaze met Connors, Connor now upon closer inspection could truly see how tired his partner looked, he found himself wondering if hank had been taking care of himself in his absence. "Hank, are you alright?"

Hank gave a half hearted laugh before shaking his head and uncrossing his arms "Shit Connor, i'm not sure anyone would be alright after going in there." 

Connor felt uneasy at the ominous statement "What do we know so far?" he asked already dreading the answer

Hank looked twoards the large loading bay door, where the majority of the officers were congregated "We are pretty sure there are at least a dozen victims in there, there may be more, its hard to tell, with the state he left them in, they are all dismembered, so far its looking like there were 4 humans and the rest are androids."

Connor nodded as he logged the information, "Alright well, lets go in so i can analyze the situation better."

Hank nodded and turned to start walking towards the entrance "Just be prepared, I've already had a few officers loose their lunches in there."

Connor understood the implication and prepared himself for the worst...it wasn't enough

Upon entering the large open space of the warehouse the severity of the grisly scene before him hit him full force. he had seen many horrible crimes, and countless murders in his time with the DPD, this however was on a completely different level. The floor was slick with the mixture of human blood and Thirium, mixing in places to create a dark violet. the bodies, or rather the parts to the bodies were everywhere, the killer had taken the time to string appendages from the ceiling on fishing wire, giving the illusion that they were floating, arms, legs, torsos, silently suspended and dripping at differing heights. on the ground was much the same, the bodies were lane out haphazardly scattered over the floor, causing anyone who needed to traverse the scene to have to almost mimic a sick twisted perversion of hopscotch. Connor noticed that the heads of all the victims were suspended, non laying on the floor, as he scanned and looked around the room, he noted that every head had a single white rose in its mouth, Connor maneuvered around the appendages that littered the floor, scanning and taking notes of placement, after about the third scan he realized that all the arms whether on the ground or suspended above had been arranged to point in a single direction. 

Connor approached one of the suspended arms and looked closely at the hand, the bones had been broken so that after rigor mortise had set in they would maintain the desired effect, Connors gaze followed the direction of the index finger. Hank came up behind Connor "What is it kid?" he asked with a husky voice, Connor could tell that hank had been shook, and was having a hard time dealing with the scene.

Connor turned to look at his partner "All of the appendages are pointing in a single direction, I'm not sure what they are pointing towards tho." Connor turned back to the direction the hand was pointing in and began scanning for any clues as to what he was looking for. Connor began walking in the indicated direction, leading away from the carnage, hank followed silently, Connor stopped when he reached a wall of old dusty shipping crates. he stopped and turned to hank "this is what they are pointing at...but their is nothing here, the boxes are all unopened."

Hank looked around Connor and up and down the wall of boxes. "Well there has to be somethin here right?" hand gestured towards the gruesome scene behind them. "This fucker is calculated, he wouldn't leave a clue that you would pick up on that led to nothing right?"

Connor nodded in agreement, scanning the area again, this time he noticed it, on the ground in front of a stack of boxes about 7 ft tall, there were scrap marks on the ground. "Hank help me move these boxes" Connor spoke with urgency

Hank motioned to a few officers on standby near them and turned to help Connor move the boxes, as they moved them Connor could see something adorning the wall behind them, he, hank and the other officers continued moving boxes until a large section of wall had been reveled, what was there sent dread and panic coursing through his artificial veins. he and hank stepped back to take in and get a better look at the wall before he heard hand give out a soft muffled "Jesus Christ"

Pictures, Dozes upon Dozes of pictures, all of Zoey, of her walking down the street with Connor, Grocery shopping, delivering her painting, visiting Carls house. what truly shook Connor were the ones that looked like they had been taken with a telephoto lens showing Zoey in her apartment, painting, eating, watching TV with Connor. The photo were all artfully hung around one sentence that had been written in the wall, in a mixture of blood and Thirium. 

You Can Not Protect Her

Was all it said, Connor Looked to Hank who looked like he had seen a ghost, he was pale and Connor could see his panic reflected in the older detectives eyes. "Connor, you gotta get her out of there now!" 

Hank hadn't even finished his sentence before Connor had turned on his heals and was running back to the car.

Zoey let out a scream, as she punched the air. "Take that asshat!"

Gavin Groaned as his life counter dropped to zero, it was only Zoey and Nines left, both with multiple lives, the stage transformed itself and they continued their battle, Link pulling out all the stops against the ice climbers, Zoey was still amused that Nine had chosen the ice climber, however much to her chagrin, he was really good with them. She kept trying to knock them off the stage and every time yelled in frustration as they climbed right back up, she charged up and arrow attack and narrowly missed, Nines was chuckling at this point at her very obvious frustration. the climber wound up and sent Link flying, who comically splat and then slid down the screen. the platform lowered depositing link with his final life, after a few mins of more failed attempts at knocking them off, link himself was thrown off, Zoey tried to use her spin attack to get back onto the stage, just missing the lip of the stage "NO NO NO NO AHHHHH!!!!" the large KO flashed across the screen, which suddenly change to show placements and stats. Nines had won every game they had played. 

Nines looked over to a playfully frustrated Zoey and said "I am very much enjoying getting rekt"

Zoey rolled her eyes and much like she did with his brother slapped him on the shoulder "Oh shut up"

Zoey heard her front door open and she turned to see Connor hurriedly rush in and close the door behind himself. "Connor!" Zoey shouted as she turned in her seat and climbed over the back of the couch, running over to greet Connor and ask him how everything went, she was caught off guard by him grabbing her and pulling her in tightly against his chest. while she was startled, she instinctualy wrapped her arms around his waist in response, not sure what had him acting this way. after a moment she pulled away and looked up and was taken aback by the look of pure dread and anxiety so clearly written on Connors face "Connor, Whats wrong, what happened?"

Connor placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes "Zoey I need you to pack a bag now, we need to leave"

Zoey Shook her head and placed her hands on Connors "Wait what, why?" fear creeping up her spine, Connor was usually so calm, what had happened that had him acting this way "Connor what happened?" 

Nines and Gavin were on their feet and listening curiously to the conversation at hand, Connor closed his eyes and took a breath he didn't need "Zoey, i know this sudden, but i need to trust me, i will explain everything later, but right now i need you listen to me, pack a bag, we need to leave, its not safe here anymore." realization hit Zoey and without another word she turned and ran up to the loft and hurriedly packed a bag.

Nines and gavin walked over to Connor, Gavin in a hushed voice "The fuck happened?" Connor shook his head, looking to his brother who without question extended his arm, Connor took it grateful at not needing to explain, and interfaced with his brother again. after a moment Nines pulled his hand away and turned to his partner, "Gavin we have to leave now, ill explain on the way." Gavin looked between Nines and Connor, and nodded. following Nines to the door. Before he left he looked over his shoulder at Connor "She's a sweet girl, take care of her" Connor nodded as Gavin and his brother left.

Zoey came back down the stairs a few minutes later with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder, which Connor immediately took for her. he looked down to her and tried to give her a reassuring smile "Do you have everything?"

She looked back at him then she looked around her apartment, before her gaze returned to him "Ya I think so"

Connor nodded and handed her her coat, "then lets go"


	12. Only one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoey pulled away then, just enough so she could look him in the eyes, her face so close he could feel her warm breath on his own, that tightness in his chest threatening to break him as she breathlessly whispered his name "Connor...I..." her eyes were searching his face, darting between his eyes and lips, "..I.." her heart rate was extremely high, her breathing heavy, pupils dilated, all of these things willing him to slowly, close the space between them, her eyes fluttering shut as she whispered his name once last time, so softly most humans wouldn't even hear. closing his own, and feeling her lips ghosting against his own urging him forward...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my friends, sorry this chapter took so long! but we finally have major (not smut yet) fluff to enjoy! i hope you all like it, feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think, feedback always welcome! 
> 
> also if you would like to see some connor and zoey fanart here is the link to my tumblr 
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ev3e

The autonomous car idled softly, the only sound against an otherwise quite night. Connor drummed his long fingers against his thigh, scanning the surrounding area for what must have been the dozenth time. when his scanners again came up with no detectable threats he turned his attention to the passenger seat, where Zoey sat curled up into an almost literal ball. She had wrapped herself in one of the blankets from the station that Connor had had the foresight to grab, it was meant for victim who were in shock, and as he watched the steady rise and fall of the rough wool blanket, he realized that that was exactly what it was being used for. Connor felt a strange pull at his Thirium pump as he watched Zoey sleep, knees pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped tightly around them, her head leaning gently against the passenger window, causing the faintest amount of fog against the glass with each slow exhale. she was normally a quite sleeper, while she tended to toss and turn she rarely ever made a sound, not like now. Zoey had been sleeping for about an hour now, and Connor was surprised when she started talking in her sleep, mostly gibberish at first, then slowly she started forming broken sentences. He felt guilty at the sudden jealousy that bloomed in the pit of his stomach when she started murmuring Rai's name over and over, that was until she started saying his name in its place. Jealousy gave way to a new emotion, that Connor had not yet experienced and wasn't sure how to categorize it, he was about to run a diagnostic on himself to try and identify the symptoms of this emotion when She started to become restless, her brows furrowed, her words became louder and more clear. Zoey was calling his name with urgency now, her breathing was quick and heart rate elevated, Connor realized she was having another nightmare, she had them more often then she would outwardly tell him. Connor leaned over and place a hand on her shoulder, and gently started to rub circles into is, while softly whispering her name. 

Zoey came awake with a jump, eyes snapping open and head whipping side to side, eyes unfocused and scared, looking for some unseen monster. Once her eyes fell on Connor they came back into focus and Connor could see the relief in them, "Connor" she sighed his name like an answered prayer, and Connor was pretty sure he felt something inside him short circuit.

Connor cleared his throat, "Zoey it's okay, you were having a nightmare"

Zoey let herself relax back into the passenger seat, looking around and taking in her surroundings "How long was i asleep for?"

" 1 hour and 13 minut..." Connor was interrupted by the internal call notification, Zoey could tell from his flashing LED that he was receiving a call, "Hold on it's Hank"

Connor answered the on the third ring "Hank?" Connor could hear the sounds of the station in the background, after the crime scene from earlier that night everyone was working double time "hey Connor, hows the girl doin?"

"She just woke up from a nap, how are things there?"

Connor could hear Hank sigh and again pictured how worn his friend must look at this point "well the crime scene has turned up zip other than the creepy stalker wall. and I have people working on securing a safe house for her, but that might take some time." hank paused as he yelled some obscenities to another officer, giving them instructions on what needed to be done before he continued "Ill be heading to your location in about 10 mins, so i should be there in about a half and hour, Gavin and Nines are already on Route."

Connor furrowed his brow, "And what are we going to do once we meet up, what are you planning?"

"Well for starters until we get that safe house, I was able to get us some rooms at a no name hotel, so we will take her there for tonight, and once we have the safe house, we move her there. and in the mean time we keep trying to find this son'ova bitch."

"alright understood...stay safe hank" Connor cautioned his friend before disconnecting the call, turning his attention back to Zoey who was watching him intently while he had his internal conversation. "Gavin, Nines and hank should be here shortly, once they arrive we will be going to a a hotel, you'll be able to rest and sleep there."

Zoey nodded, saying nothing only turning her attention to the falling snow outside, Connor could see the emotions quietly rolling across her face. still she remained silent, pulling her knees closer in onto herself, as if trying to shield herself from the world and situation she found herself in. Connor couldn't stand seeing her like this; silent, scared, and fragile. not after the past few weeks, not after coming to know her contagiously happy personality. He didn't know what he could do to help...but he had to try.

"Zoey, listen I know this is a lot to take in and its happening really fast but i wan....." he was cut short by Zoey's soft voice, barley more then a whisper.

"Why me, what could he possibly want with me?" she didn't look at him while she spoke, just continued to look out the window.

Connor found himself at a loss for words, he had asked himself the same question over and over and still had no answer to give, as he was trying to form an answer when she continued "How many people, how many people have died, because of...me?" Connor could hear her voice crack a little with the last word and could tell her heart rate was becoming elevated.

////Stress Level 50%////// 

"If he wants me...why didn't he just kill me when he had the chance, why play these games with peoples lives" her voice was becoming higher in octave as she spoke, raw emotion saturating every word, tears were streaming down her cheeks as she spoke.

////Stress Level 70%///// 

He was designed to interrogate, investigate, and defuse; one of his primary functions being, handling hostage situations and calming the agitated perpetrators. Yet when faced with her questions and the pop up warnings flashing red in his vision of her climbing stress levels, he found himself frozen, not even having the faintest clue as to how to begin to comfort her.

///Stress Level 85%//// 

"If it's m..me he wants, then maybe i should just let him have me...then he wouldn't have a reason to keep hurting people right...right?" her voice cracked again as she began to tremble, her words hanging in the air between them, Connors eyes wide and lips slightly parted in shock at even the thought of what she was suggesting. That's when programming didn't matter anymore, his functions, his designs, none of it mattered in the face of this shattering human. without thought, without hesitation, inhibitions cast aside Connor reached across the bench seat of the car and wrapped his arms around Zoey. Pulling her into him, one hand around her waist, the other her shoulders, burying his face into her hair.

Zoey made a small noise of surprise at Connors sudden closeness, she didn't make any attempts to move away from him however, she only turned her face slightly into the crook of his neck whispering his name questioningly

Connor tightened his grip on her small frame and readjusted his face so that he was whispering in her ear, voice low, sending shivers across her skin "Don't, Don't you ever think that, he is insane, sacrificing yourself will not change that." he paused nuzzling against her temple before continuing "I promised i would keep you safe, that is my mission, YOU are my mission...and I never fail my missions."

Zoey pulled away then, just enough so she could look him in the eyes, her face so close he could feel her warm breath on his own, that tightness in his chest threatening to break him as she breathlessly whispered his name "Connor...I..." her eyes were searching his face, darting between his eyes and lips, "..I.." her heart rate was extremely high, her breathing heavy, pupils dilated, all of these things willing him to slowly, close the space between them, her eyes fluttering shut as she whispered his name once last time, so softly most humans wouldn't even hear. closing his own, and feeling her lips ghosting against his own urging him forward....

###HOOONNNNKKKKK###

They both jumped, Connor hitting his head against the roof of the car, and Zoey pulling away, looking at her lap, immediately blushing a furious shade of red. Connor scanned the area and was drawn to the car parked in front of them with the headlights off, even in the dark lighting he could see who was in the car and felt instantly annoyed. Gavin was sitting in the drivers seat with his hands interlocked on the top of his head roaring with laughter, while his brother was in the passenger seat leaning over hand hovering over the horn, a shit eating grin gracing his normally stoic face. Connor wasn't sure what he was more angry about, his brother and Gavin being assholes, or the fact that he had been so distracted he hadn't noticed them. Connor cleared his throat as he saw hank pull into the dark lot, "Hank is here, stay in the car where it is warm, ill be right back" he spoke softly as he exited the car, Zoey hummed in response, her face still flushed pink.

___________________________________________

The ride had been silent, Zoey had not said anything since her laughter at hanks car, standing in the snow she took in the old manual car and the heavy metal blasting from the speakers shaking her head, giggling she spoke to connor without looking at him "my god, that might be the most retro thing I've ever seen" he found himself smirking at her comment, and missing the sound of her laughter.

hank had insisted on them taking his car, it being manual and not autonomous, it had no GPS, no computers, and therefor could not be monitored or hacked. Zoey had adjusted the radio to and oldies station in place of the usual heavy metal. In order to make sure no one was, or could, follow them Connor was taking an extremely long and complicated route to the hotel, breaking off from the others who were going ahead to secure the area. after a few songs connor felt relived when Zoey started humming to the songs. he knew how much she loved to sing, and the fact that she was indulging just a little made him relax.

the next song started playing and zoey's heart rate jumped and her serotonin spiked, a smile spreading across her face, Connor expected her to continue humming, what he didn't expect her to do, for the first time in front of him, was to start singing with the music. not her normal soft singing she did to herself while painting or cleaning, or the humming she always did in his presence, no...real singing.

"And I'd give up forever to touch you"

"cuz i know that you feel me somehow"

Her voice sent shivers down his spine,

"you're the closest to heaven that i'll ever be"

"and i don't want to go home right now"

Connor couldn't help but look over at her, eyes closed and head softly swaying in time with the power and emotions that he could feel coursing through her as she sang. her voice was high, but not a soprano, lower but not nearly low enough to be a contralto, no her voice rang out as a solid mezzo-soprano. Connor couldn't even begin to describe how her voice made him feel, it was like every circuit, every artificial synapse, became tuned to her pitch, her highs and lows, pulsating in time with her.

"And all i can taste is this moment"

"And all i can breath is your're life"

"And sooner or later its over"

"I just don't want to miss you tonight"

He could feel his resolve waning with every word that passed her lips, and as he pulled up to the stop light, he just stared at her, and for the first time in his short lifetime, he understood how humans could be so enraptured by one single person. understood the metaphor of feeling like the only two people in the world in a single moment..

"And i don't want the world to see me"

"Cause' I don't think that they'd understand"

"When everything's meant to be broken"

He barley registered that he had put the car in park, that the light had turned green, in that moment, in the middle of the cold Detroit night, with nothing and no one but the snow silently falling around them, all he could see was her. as she spoke the last words she turned towards Connor, eyes opening and meeting his slowly...

"I just want you to know who I am..."

she sang them, those words, but the way she met his gaze, the way she turned to him, it was like she was singing them to him, and only him. the song continued, Zoey however, remained silent, never breaking eye contact, the soft glow of the dashboard illuminating her face like some ethereal being. Her head dipped slightly to the side, as she parted her lips to speak "Conn..." the small movement snapped him out of the trance and before she finish uttering his name he cut her short with his lips. her eyes fluttered wide in response, but only for a moment before she let them close. Connor could feel her relax and instead of finishing his name she only moaned contently leaning into the kiss.

Feeling her soft moan against his lips, Connor lost what little control he had left, his arms found her waist and gently pulled her flush to him, he could feel her arms curl around his neck and her fingers splaying through his hair. Her lips were softer then he could have ever imagined, and the warmth radiating off them sent electricity surging through his artificial veins. when she pulled back slightly to part her lips for air he hungrily seized the opportunity letting his tongue glide over her lips, she responded with her own hunger, greedily accepting the intrusion, welcoming his searching and exploration. her grip in his hair tightening, one hand moving down his neck and gliding over his shoulder, pulling him closer. she was intoxicating, her taste was an organically beautiful mixture of mint, coffee, and underneath it all, the pure taste of HER. Connor felt like he couldn't get her close enough, desire was a new feeling, and he was quickly discovering that when it came to her, he may never be able to get enough.

with one swift movement she was lifted into his lap, one arm snaked around her waist and the other cupping her neck just below her jaw, his thumb rubbing the side of her cheek and his long fingers intertwining the hair at the nape of her neck. in this position she was looking down at him, she readjusted herself slightly, cupping his face with both her hands, he could feel her hips move against him, as she took in a shaky breath before she lowered her lips back down to meet his, pausing and hovering a breath away "Connor..." he loved the way his name lingered on her lips, using the hand cupping her face he pulled her in and closed the gap, earning him another pleased moan, he wanted to hear her moan again, wanted her to whisper his name like a plea, a prayer. he wanted to explore her and find all the ways to make her come undone and know at the end of it all that it was his doing. in that moment all he wanted, more then anything else was HER. she rolled her hips again, and Connor bucked into the movement, from some unknown primal instinct his sudden movement causing her to arch her back, and rise up on her knees slightly and...

*******HONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKKKKKK******

...Sit On the horn.

They both jumped at the noise, breaking apart but not letting go, they just started at each other for a moment, taking in each other, Zoey's pupils were completely blown out, lips swollen and she had a beautiful flush to her cheeks. while Connors hair was a tousled mess. he hadn't realized that she had almost completely worked his jacket off his shoulders. they sat there in silence, for another moment, holding each other, before Zoey burst out laughing, Connor immediately joined in, in between the fits of laughter Zoey gave connor a small smirk "I Guess that what we get for being HORNY" she snorted a little at her own pun.

Connor groaned around his laughter "That was bad"

Zoey smiled down at him "And yet you laughed"

Connor brushed the stray hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear "Yah I guess my sense of humor needs calibrating" he laughed again when she playfully slapped him on the shoulder.

He ran his hands down her back and let them settle on her waist, "So we have been at this stoplight for 11 minutes and 45 seconds, we should probably head to the hotel before the others get worried."

Zoey sighed and groaned in protest before shifting her weight and settling into the seat next to Connor. while he didn't want her to move he was pleased when she settled herself against his side and rested her head against his shoulder. "Alright lets get going"

He hummed in response, putting the car back into drive, and proceeding to run the now red light.


End file.
